All For You
by SP-in-Sirius-Denial
Summary: AU fic about what would have happened had Sirius taken Harry the night of L/J's death. Sirius and Harry go to America to start a life away from the ministry. Remus keeps up the fight looking for Pettigrew until something tragic happens~~New chapter!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything that goes along with it. I do own this particular plot line, but it of course feeds off of what the wonderful J.K. Rowling has already written.  
  
This is an AU fic about what could have happened on the night of Lily and James death. I love reading stories about Harry as a young kid, and wanted to try my own. I hope you like it!!!!!!!  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Lightning flashed through the windows of the Potter's small house in Godric's Hollow, illuminating the face of baby Harry Potter who was cradled in his mothers shaking arms. James Potter was pacing the living room with a worried expression upon his face. That morning they had gone under the Fidelius charm with their friend Peter Pettigrew as the secret keeper. The worry stemmed from the fact that Peter looked overly happy about taking on the dangerous job of secret keeper. They had known for a while that one of their friends had turned against them, but now they weren't so sure they had trusted the right one.  
  
"I should have gone with Sirius.despite what he said," James thought to himself as he continued to pace. Lightning flashed again followed by a sharp crack of thunder, causing Lily to jump and baby Harry to cry. James went to them and sat down beside Lily, wrapping his arms around her shaking frame.  
  
"It'll be alright Lil, it has to be. Don't worry," he whispered soothingly into her ear.  
  
"You're worried too James, I can see it. This isn't going to work."  
  
"It has to," James said, "it has to." Just as he said that there was a loud bang outside, only this time it wasn't thunder.  
  
"Oh God!" Lily mumbled, jumping quickly to her feet.  
  
"That damn bastard Peter.he betrayed us, he must have! It's him Lily, take Harry and run!"  
  
"James-" Lily choked, sobbing now.  
  
"GO!" He yelled as the front door crashed down followed by an evil cackle. Voldemort's silhouette was framed in the door way. Lily ran towards the side door and looked out to find twenty or so deatheaters standing guard. She turned back to James and saw him defiantly standing up to Voldemort. She couldn't hear what he was saying, everything was a blur until she saw him fall. Green light filled the room and Lily saw James sway and collapse. He was dead.  
  
She raced up the stairs with baby in arms to the nursery. She knocked over the bureau and the crib and made a little fort for Harry and placed him under a blanket, hoping it would give him the most protection that was possible at that time.  
  
She then heard him coming up the stairs and backed herself against the wall. Voldemort slowly entered the room and smiled an evil smile at Lily. He then turned away from her and walked toward the corner where Harry lay.  
  
"NO! Not Harry. . .please!" she screamed. Voldemort just cackled and pointed his wand at the shaking blanket on the floor.  
  
Lily ran in front of Voldemort's wand and looked up at him defiantly. She revealed the baby by stepping on the edge of the blanket.  
  
"Move aside silly girl!" he demanded.  
  
She turned and looked at her baby, crying on the floor and mouthed, "I love you Harry." The baby cried even harder and watched as his mother fell silently to her death beside him. He then looked up at the terrifying man standing before him and watched as the tip of his wand pointed near his forehead. There was another flash of bright green light and then a huge explosion. The young baby cried in horror as the walls around him began to tumble. He felt himself falling slightly and heard the loud crunching of the roof landing around him. His mothers shelter prevented anything from falling directly on top of him. Then there was silence except for the soft sniffling coming from the traumatized child lying among ruins.  
  
Nearly an hour later authorities showed up at the house. They examined the ruins and pulled out the bodies of James and Lily Potter, but they didn't immediately find baby Harry. His cries led the officials to him and they found it miraculous that he had survived. The Potter's best friend Sirius Black showed up and fell to the ground sobbing. The guilt in his heart was overpowering him. Had it not been for his stupid plan to fool Voldemort, the house would still be standing, James and Lily would be alive, Harry wouldn't be crying.  
  
"Harry," Sirius thought. "I'm his godfather.he's-he's mine now." This was equally depressing, Sirius had no idea how to take care of a child, but it was his responsibility. He walked up to the ministry doctor checking Harry over and asked, "How is he? Is he going to be alright?"  
  
"The boy's fine except for this curse scar on his head. It appears he managed to repel Avada Kedavra, the killing curse. It's miraculous. I don't know how he did it. He'll have that mark for life, a sign that he's the boy who defeated He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, he who repelled the killing curse. This boy is a living miracle."  
  
Sirius smiled sadly at his godson and picked him up off the stretcher he had been lying on. He slowly rocked Harry in his arms and managed to get him to stop crying and fall asleep in his arms. Sirius took him and sat under a tree where he began to cry himself. He couldn't believe what had just happened. He was ready to get up and take Harry home with him when a huge shadow fell over him.  
  
"Sirius, mah boy, terrible isn't it."  
  
He looked up with tear stained eyes to see Rubeus Hagrid standing over him smiling sadly. Sirius just nodded his head. "They're gone," he mumbled.  
  
"How's young Harry?" he asked curiously, not wanting to reveal his real purpose there that evening.  
  
"Doctor said he'll be fine.he survived the killing curse."  
  
"Did he? That's 'mazing."  
  
Sirius nodded sadly and kissed the baby on the crown of his head, just above the cut caused by the curse.  
  
"I hate ta do this to ya, Sirius, but I got me orders from Dumbledore. He tol' me to bring young Harry to him at his aunt and uncle's house. He thinks that they should be the ones to bring em up."  
  
Sirius looked up sharply. "I'm his godfather. James and Lily wanted me to raise him if anything ever happened to them. He's not going to go live with those muggles. I've met them, they're awful. You're not taking him anywhere Hagrid!"  
  
"I'm sorry Sirius, but I got me orders," Hagrid said, trying to sound tough, though he really wanted to cry at the emotion in Sirius's voice.  
  
"Screw your orders! It's not right, and I'm not allowing it. Harry's staying with me and that's that!" Sirius stood as he said this and glared defiantly at Hagrid. "Goodbye!" Sirius said and quickly apparated himself and Harry out of the yard.  
  
They arrived inside his own flat that he shared with his best friend and former best friend Peter Pettigrew. Sirius couldn't believe what Peter had done. Luckily, neither of them were home. Peter was probably in hiding, knowing we would figure out what he had done. As for Remus, it was a full moon. He was locked away in a shack way out back.  
  
"Remus," Sirius thought. "He's going to think it was me. He'll think I betrayed them." The idea sent chills down his spine. He tried to force the idea out of his mind, but as he packed his things it was all he could think about. Remus would be all alone. Sirius knew that by doing what he was doing he was causing his best friend more pain than he could ever imagine, but it was what he had to do.  
  
Before he left for good, Sirius wrote Remus a quick note.  
  
Remus,  
  
Right now, you probably think I'm the scum of the universe. Well, you're wrong. Peter is. At the last minute we decided he should be the secret keeper, it would throw Voldemort off guard. But, we were wrong. Pete betrayed Lily and James, Harry, and you and me. He messed with our heads and now Lily and James are gone. Forever. Harry is an orphan, and I can't help but think it's all my fault. It was my idea for them to make the switch. But, everyone is going to think that I was the betrayer, and right now I do feel like one, and I bet you don't believe me right now, but please, you have to trust me. I would never do anything to hurt them.  
  
So now, I'm leaving before anyone can throw me into Azkaban for something I didn't do, before I do something to Peter that I will later regret. I can't tell you where I'm going, in case you don't believe my story, but I'll tell you this, I'm taking Harry out of England. I can't allow him to be sent to live with his muggle relatives, you remember them I'm sure. You'll agree with me that that is no place for him to grow up.  
  
So please, Moony, don't come looking for us. Whether you think me guilty or innocent of whatever the rest of England says, please don't come looking for me. Not for my own sake, but for Harry's. I promise you, I would never hurt a hair on Harry's messy head. I love him. I love you, and I loved Lily and James, and I'm so sorry to leave you all alone. Please forgive me Moony, please.  
  
Sincerely,  
  
Sirius Black  
  
P.S. I intend to be in touch with you in some way or another within the next year. I'll find a way to do this without revealing myself too much to the rest of the world. Please don't turn from me when this time comes.  
  
Tears streamed down his face as he wrote the letter, covering the paper with tiny water marks. Sirius hoped it would be a sign of his honesty, if they still showed that is.  
  
He left the letter on the counter where the paper gets dropped off. Before Remus got back the paper would arrive and be set on top of it. Surely the front page would reveal the deaths of Lily and James and he would find out first through that rather than through Sirius's desperate letter. He then went to his sock drawer where the guys kept 2700 pounds of muggle currency in case of emergency, and left the house with Harry and his luggage. He apparated to the London airport and caught the first plane to America. He slept the entire ride with Harry curled in his arms, sleeping soundly.  
  
The next morning Remus woke up in his shack feeling absolutely terrible. His wolf self had been particularly active the previous night and he was unsure why. He pulled himself painfully from the floor and hobbled back to the house. He went in to the kitchen and pulled out the daily prophet and nearly fell over. The headline read, "Lily and James Potter: Brutally killed in their home last night." He clutched his heart and read on.  
  
". . .Early yesterday the Potter's underwent the Fidelius Charm after sources told them they were the next target of You-Know-Who. The Daily Prophet has heard from various sources that their secret keeper was one, Sirius Black, who disappeared two hours after the murders, with the lone survivor, Harry Potter (pictured below). . ." Remus looked at the picture of the ruins of the Potter's home and saw his best friend under a tree crying into the hair of baby Harry. Remus felt tears well in his own eyes, but he read on. "Miraculously, young Harry Potter made it out of the ordeal with only a cut on his forehead. Reports tell us that You-Know-Who attempted to kill the young boy after murdering his parents, but the curse used, Avada Kedavra, back fired. You-Know-Who is dead. . ."  
  
At this point Remus dropped the paper on the floor and leaned against the counter. He felt faint and buried his head in his hands, trying to keep what little composure he had left.  
  
"How could you Sirius," he thought as the tears began to fall. "How could you do this to James and Lily. . .to Harry. . .to me?" He banged his fist hard on the counter and made the note Sirius had left for him slide across the counter, bringing it to Remus's attention. He scanned it quickly and then started crying harder. He cried, and he cried, and he cried until finally he could cry no more. Then he read the letter again, more thoroughly.  
  
A million thoughts raced through his mind. Could Sirius really be innocent of all this? If so then why did he run? An innocent man stays to plead his case, only a guilty man would flee. Though he did have good reason. He did it not just for himself but for Harry too. And doing what the paper suggested was completely out of character for Sirius. He would do anything for his friends.  
  
One time in their sixth year James and Remus pulled a big prank on Snape, and were caught. Yet, Sirius, who was actually sick during the prank told Dumbledore that he had done it, and was suspended for a week while James and Remus were let off. Sirius would never betray friends he cared for like that.  
  
In the letter Sirius had insinuated that Peter had been the real betrayer, and it was much more likely for him to do it. Peter would never own up to what he had done even if he was more responsible than anyone else. He let anyone take the blame without a second thought. He was out for only himself since they had first met. Now, Remus realized that Peter was never a good friend at all, Sirius was right. With this thought his heart went out to his friend. Sirius was running for a cause that had nothing to do with him. Something that he could not control.  
  
Remus sat on the floor and contemplated his situation. He finished the article off and then re-read the whole thing. He then looked in the obituaries and read the write up on them. His own name was listed under the survivors section. Sirius's was conveniently left out. There was a picture of James and Lily at the top of the column. They looked radiantly happy with their arms around each other, blowing kisses at the camera. It made Remus smile a teary smile.  
  
At the bottom of the column it said that the funeral would be the following day. Remus had every intention of going and was curious as to whether or not Peter would show up. If he was smart he'd stay away, but Remus hoped that Peter would think he had Remus's trust. That way he could catch Peter and bring him to court under veritaserum. Then Sirius's name could be cleared and he could return to England with Harry. That's how it was supposed to be.  
  
Remus found that it wasn't that easy. All that day he saw no sign of Peter. At the funeral, there was also no sign of him, nor had he called or left a note. This confirmed Remus's belief that Sirius had told him the truth.  
  
The funeral was the most difficult thing Remus had ever been through. Everyone they had ever known at Hogwarts was there, and everyone whom they had met since leaving was there. Yet, Remus wasn't close to any of them.  
  
But what broke Remus's heart the most that the most important people to James and Lily couldn't be in attendance. They were gone. Harry never attended his parents funeral and Sirius missed it as well.  
  
Remus cried silently through the entire thing as he sat in a pew surrounded by strangers. It was the first time he realized he was completely alone. He didn't have a real friend left to turn to.  
  
He went home that night and laid back on the couch that was now just his. With a pad of paper in his lap and a pen in his hand he began to write a letter to his best friend. He was unsure of whether or not it would make it to him, but he had to try. Like the letter Sirius had written to him this one got covered in tears, smudging the words, but it was legible. After attaching a copy of the articles he had gathered about James and Lily's deaths, he tied the letter to his owl's leg with orders to find Sirius Black no matter what the distance.  
  
Sirius and Harry got off the plane at about 7:00 the morning after the terrible event. They had arrived in Boston, Massachusetts. The first thing Sirius did was take what was left of his British currency and turn it into dollars at a bank. He had roughly $2,000 to spend. It seemed like a lot until Sirius thought about what he had to buy in order to live.  
  
Sirius then hopped on a bus that was going South to Providence, Rhode Island. They arrived around noon and Sirius got lunch at McDonalds, feeding Harry tiny bits of French fries and slowly pouring milk in his mouth. From there they hopped on another bus and went to Newport, Rhode Island. Sirius decided that that was where they would finally settle down. He figured that by moving around those first few times would prevent anyone from easily tracking him.  
  
His next job was to set out finding somewhere to lodge for the night. He found a cheap, yet clean, hotel that overlooked the ocean, paid the cash and locked himself inside.  
  
Sirius gently set Harry on the bed and without taking his shoes off laid down as well. He put his arm around the child so he wouldn't fall off and fell into a deep sleep.  
  
He was woken early the next morning to the sound of crying. Harry was absolutely screeching beside him, and Sirius couldn't figure out what the problem was. He then caught a whiff of the smell. Harry needed a diaper change, but Sirius had no diapers. Almost panicking, and near tears himself Sirius ran to the window and looked outside. Just up the street a little ways was a grocery store. He sighed in relief and picked up his godson, some money and his hotel key and headed out the door.  
  
He walked speedily up the road and took a while finding diapers and baby wipes. For a while he examined them trying to figure out which ones would be best for Harry. He worried they would be too small so he got the second largest size they had.  
  
Then, Sirius gathered a couple jars of baby food, a sippy cup and some juicy juice, as well as a bag of chips and a bottle of coke and headed for the checkout line. He was a little confused by all the technology of the grocery store, such as the conveyer belt, etc. He almost dropped Harry when he set the food down and it started moving away from him. The cashier gave him weird looks. Whether it was due to his reaction or the fact that Sirius was dressed in full on wizard robes, Sirius didn't know.  
  
"Where's the costume party?" the cashier asked as he rang through Sirius's items.  
  
Sirius was taken aback for a moment and then said, "No costume party, ran out of clean clothes."  
  
The cashier laughed and said, "You're from England?"  
  
Sirius nodded.  
  
"Just visiting or did you move here?"  
  
"Moved here."  
  
"Did you have to go through all that immigration shit? That can be a real pain in the ass."  
  
"Not yet. . .but I imagine I'll have to," Sirius said, thankful that the cashier had asked him that. Sirius then paid and waited for his change.  
  
"Well, have a good day now."  
  
"And yourself," Sirius said. He grabbed his bags and left the store. Harry started crying again on the way back.  
  
"We're almost there, bud, just a few more yards."  
  
Sirius was relieved when he got peacefully back into the hotel. He quickly changed Harry's diaper and through away the rancid one. "You ready to go back to sleep now?"  
  
Harry just looked up at Sirius confused. Sirius brought him back to the bed. He was almost asleep when he thought of something. As of right now, he could still be tracked. A simple searching spell would show that Sirius Black was hiding in Newport, Rhode Island. He quickly performed a spell that would prevent anyone from finding them and settled back down. He stroked Harry's hair slowly and watched the baby fall asleep. Soon, he fell asleep as well.  
  
When the two woke up again it was almost twelve and they had to be out of the hotel soon or they'd be charged for another night. Sirius quickly fed Harry a jar of baby food and gave him some juice. He then ate his own chips and drank his soda. After packing his things and then shrinking them down to fit in his pocket Sirius left the hotel with Harry in his arms. They boarded a trolley that would take them to the more urban part of town and Sirius began looking for an apartment. He found one that required a down payment of only $500, was large enough for the two of them and had small monthly payments. He then found a salvation army where he got some furniture for cheap and had it shipped to the apartment. With only $600 left to his name Sirius now had an apartment, with a bed, a crib, a couch and a few blankets and sheets. He had also picked up some baby clothes for Harry.  
  
Now Sirius just needed a job. He bought a muggle newspaper from a machine in front of the apartment building and started looking through the want ads. Sirius was trained to do a lot of different things in the wizarding world, but found that his options were limited in muggle America.  
  
He ended up calling the grocery store he had previously visited and got an interview for the next day.  
  
By the end of that day Sirius was worn out. He put Harry in his crib and laid in his own bed. He had left the window open, letting some cool air in. He always slept better that way.  
  
As tired as he was, Sirius couldn't sleep. He stayed up late worrying. If he did get a job, what was he to do with Harry all day. He couldn't very well leave him all alone. Yet, he had to get a job or he wouldn't be able to keep up a home for Harry and himself, and get food and such. Sirius could see no good way out of his situation.  
  
He was almost crying out of stress, when his thoughts were interrupted by the flutter of wings at his window. An owl was hovering outside looking in. It looked right at Sirius and then flew in, looking very tired.  
  
Sirius's first thought was that it was a tracking owl. His spell would block most owls sent directly to find him and disclose his location to authorities, but some owls could break it. But after a moment Sirius recognized the owl as Remus's. Sirius had actually given the bird to Remus for his twentieth birthday. The bird flew to his lap and Sirius undid the letter.  
  
He read it to himself in a soft whisper.  
  
Sirius,  
  
I can't believe all this has happened. I'm numb with pain over it. I imagine you're feeling worse so than I am, being on the run and all. I found your note, and I believe you. I had my suspicions at first, but I trust you, I know you'd never do that. My beliefs were clinched when I noticed that Peter hasn't been home since. That dirty little bastard.  
  
I just wanted to tell you that. I'm on your side, Sirius. If you're ever stuck and need a way out, I'll come. I wish I could be there with you and Harry now, but I know it's best that you're alone, wherever you are. Just remember, I'll always be here. I also plan to stay on the lookout. The first sign of him I'm going to stun him and take him to the ministry. He can't hide forever, right?  
  
I've attached some things that I know you won't really want to see, but I think you should, so you know exactly what you're up against. Today was Lily and James funeral, a real wake up call for me. I sat there, all alone and realized I had no one left. All the people at the funeral were complete strangers to me. . .except Dumbledore of course. Sorry to depress you even more. It's just, hard, you know?  
  
I guess that's all I wanted to tell you. That and I miss you already. Right now it seems like you'll be gone forever. Please tell me you won't be. I don't think I could handle that too well. You and Harry, well, you're all I really have left, and for all I know you're half way across the world. Don't forget me, Sirius, okay? I'm always here for you, if you need money, anything, just owl me. You know where to find me.  
  
Love,  
  
Remus  
  
Sirius noted the tear spots and it brought tears to his own eyes. "Poor Moony," he thought. He then read through the newspaper clippings and cried even more. Remus had been right, it had been tough, and he now had more worries than keeping himself hidden from the ministry, he needed to find a way to survive.  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
So what do you think? If you think I should continue please say Aye, if you think I should trash it, say Nay. Reviews are always appreciated, generally best with a little constructive criticism. Just please don't be mean! Oh, and if you have a problem with relocating a British story to America, I'm sorry, but it's what I wanted to do. I didn't want to send them to a country that didn't speak English, and I don't know much about Australia. I suppose I could have sent them to Canada, but. . .I love Rhode Island! I'm actually going to be going to school their next year, and it's honestly the most British like place I've ever seen in America. 


	2. Chapter 2

Wow, that is a whole lot of reviews. . .I'm speechless. I posted that first chapter before I went to work. I came home and already had 24 reviews, that was a mere 4.5 hour period! I love you all! LOL, I was expecting 15 reviews at the most for that chapter and you guys did more than double that! I'm impressed. Now, I would do review reviews, but I just don't have the time right now. But keep reviewing and I'm sure eventually I'll get them out for you guys! I hope you like this chapter as well!  
  
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Sirius woke the next morning again to the audacious cries of the baby in the next room. He groaned and got out of bed, rushing to Harry's side. Figuring it was the same problem as the previous day, Sirius changed Harry's diaper. Yet it didn't stop the crying. He tried feeding him, that didn't work. He didn't know what was wrong.  
  
"What's wrong little guy, huh?" he crooned in a childlike voice. "I bet mummy and daddy would know."  
  
At this Harry stopped crying and looked expectantly into Sirius's face. Sirius could feel his heart shatter into little pieces. Harry missed his parents. The first day away from them had been exciting, now he just wanted them back, more than anything.  
  
"You miss mummy and daddy, don't you Harry?"  
  
Sirius again saw the tears welling in the baby's eyes and flinched when he started screaming. He picked Harry up and rocked him in his arms. He whispered what he thought would be soothing things to Harry, but nothing worked. He wanted his mother and father and would not rest until he had found them.  
  
"I'm sorry Harry," he said his voice cracking as he spoke. "I'm sorry. They're gone. They'll never be back. You're stuck with me now. I'm sorry. Please stop crying."  
  
Harry seemed to understand what Sirius was saying, but he didn't stop crying. He cried and he cried and Sirius willed himself not to cry as well. He almost gave up until there was a knock on the door.  
  
Sirius took a deep breath and went to open it, the crying child still in his arms. What he saw surprised him. A girl about fifteen stood there testily and glared at him. She was wearing a pair of flannel pants and a Boston Red Sox t-shirt. What struck Sirius about her though was her hair. It was the exact same color as Lily's had been. Yet, the moment she opened her mouth Sirius found that she was as unlike Lily as was humanly possible.  
  
"Would you mind making your kid shut up?" she said with a strong Boston accent.  
  
"Excuse me?" Sirius said as dignified as he could.  
  
"Your kid, it's eight AM! I was trying to sleep next door and he woke me up with his cryin'! Can't you get him to be quiet?!"  
  
"No I can't! Do you think I like it?!"  
  
"Hey, don't get mad at me here. You're the one with the annoying kid."  
  
"I've been trying to get him to stop crying for the last hour. . .It's hopeless," Sirius said, sounding quite defeated. The girl looked a little sorry, but was still planning on complaining.  
  
"Well is he always like this? You know, it's what your first day here? You're already on my bad side, and trust me you don't want to get on the other people on this floor's bad side. We have some really mean people. Make him be quiet!"  
  
"I already told you! I can't. I tried changing him, feeding him, I even sort of sang to him. . .nothing will work. He wants his parents."  
  
"You're not this kid's father?"  
  
"No, I'm his godfather."  
  
"Well where the Hell are his parents maybe they can shut him up!"  
  
"They're dead. . .they died three days ago."  
  
"Oh. . ." the girl finally shut up.  
  
"He doesn't understand why they're not here," Sirius said quietly. Harry shrieked on through the awkward silence between the two.  
  
"Let me try," she finally said. "What's his name?"  
  
"Harry, careful with him," Sirius said cautiously, handing over the hysterical baby.  
  
"SHUT UP OVER THERE!" someone down the hall yelled. Sirius shut the door.  
  
"Told ya," the girl said with a smirk. Sirius smiled sheepishly.  
  
Harry looked up into the face that belonged to the unfamiliar arms that were holding him. He immediately stopped crying.  
  
"Wow," she muttered. "I thought I could do it but not that easily."  
  
"It's your hair."  
  
"What?!"  
  
"Your hair is the exact same color as his mothers. . .he sees her in you."  
  
"I look like his ma?"  
  
"No, not at all, just your hair. It's enough for him."  
  
"Well that's just great, but I can't exactly stay here all day. I'm tired. That's what people are when they're woken this early in the morning by screaming babies."  
  
"Wait, please. . .I need a favor."  
  
"You want me to do you a favor? Do you realize that I don't like you, and I don't like this kid. You two woke me up, now I'm cranky. It's Saturday, you know. So what the hell would I do you a favor for?"  
  
Sirius looked at her helplessly and spoke rapidly and frantically, "Because you could be a really nice person, and I'm sure that you'll find that Harry and I are really nice people too. . .when he's not crying that is. Please help me."  
  
"You know what, I don't speak British! I speak English! I don't have a freakin' clue what you just said to me."  
  
"Can you please just be a nice, forgiving person and do me this favor?" Sirius said as slowly and clearly as he could. "I'll pay you."  
  
"What do you want me to do?"  
  
"Watch Harry for a couple of hours this afternoon so I can go look for a job. I wouldn't ask a complete stranger who doesn't like me unless it was an emergency."  
  
"Well if you don't get a job then you can't afford this apartment which means I no longer have to be woken at the crack of dawn by this cryin' baby. . .So why would I want to help you get a job?"  
  
Sirius looked dumbfounded at the girl. He had no idea that a girl so young could be so mean. He was speechless. Then she started laughing at him.  
  
"I'm kidding, okay. I'll do it. When do you need me here?"  
  
"You mean it? You'll do it?! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"  
  
"Hey, I don't hold grudges. I'll get over being woken early as long as you allow me to leave now and go back to bed. Now when do you need me to watch the kid?"  
  
"Around 2:00."  
  
"K, I'll be back. What's your name by the way?"  
  
"Sirius."  
  
"Seriously?"  
  
Sirius smirked and nodded his head. "Sirius Black. And this is Harry Potter. And you are?"  
  
"Emily Dalton. See you later. And can you try to keep him quiet for the next few hours?"  
  
"I can try. Thanks again, you won't regret it."  
  
"Yeah, yeah," she said and walked out the door, slamming it behind her.  
  
"Look Harry, we made a friend," Sirius muttered as he brought Harry to the couch and bounced him on his lap for a while, trying to keep him happy. Harry just cooed in his lap, muttering baby babble. The only intelligible words that came out of his mouth were mummy and daddy. Sirius remembered watching them teach those to him.  
  
"Can you say Sirius, Harry?" Sirius asked, seeing if he could do the same.  
  
Harry just sang little nothings.  
  
"Si-ri-us."  
  
"Seewees," Harry mumbled. Sirius laughed and kissed Harry atop the head.  
  
"Very good, Harry, very good." Sirius then brought Harry back to his crib and laid him down for a nap. He then took one himself.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Back in England Peter Pettigrew was on the run. He found that he had nowhere to run to and took refuge as a rat in the woods of England. He couldn't return to the flat because Remus would surely be there still, supporting Sirius. And he couldn't return to the deatheaters because they had decided that he had planned for Voldemort to fall that night at the Potters.  
  
No, it was best for him to hide. It may seem suspicious that he had disappeared, but it was his only hope. Thus, Peter Pettigrew vowed to stay a rat for the rest of his life.  
  
Currently he was sitting on a rock in the middle of the forest when he heard voices. He peered down the forest path and saw two young boys walking together. One looked about ten the other about four. They each had the brightest red hair Peter had ever seen.  
  
"Hey Charlie, look!" The younger boy said and pointed directly at Peter. He had a slight lisp and was missing a tooth from the front of his mouth.  
  
"Careful Perce, he could have a disease," Charlie said.  
  
"I think he looks fine," the younger one said, stepping closer to the rat and pounced on it as it tried to scurry away.  
  
"Think mum will let me keep him?"  
  
"Doubt it, what with the new baby on the way and all."  
  
"I can't believe she's having another one. I didn't even want Ron, not to mention Fred and George, and now we have to deal with this one!"  
  
"I like it, hope it's a girl."  
  
"I don't. That's the last thing we need. Mum will spoil her. . .she never spoils me."  
  
"Yeah, yeah, lets go Percy. Bring the rat."  
  
Little Percy held the rat tightly with two hands as he skipped along next to his older brother. In about ten minutes time they arrived in front of the oddest looking house he had ever seen. He tried to groan, but it came out as a squeak. Percy looked down at him and said cheerfully, "He likes it here already, Charlie see! Don't tell mum, okay? She won't let me keep him, but I really want to!"  
  
"Whatever Perce," Charlie said and hurried inside.  
  
"I think I'll call you Scabbers, and you have to do everything I say, okay?" He made the rat nod his head and then took him inside. He set him on a desk in his room and just left him there. His immediate thought was to leave, but he decided that it would be much better for him to stay there. He wouldn't have to worry about getting food, or becoming food. He'd have shelter from the rain. Putting up with the annoying kids would be difficult, but it would be better than fending for himself in the forest.  
  
Peter curled up on the desk using a rubber eraser as a pillow and drifted into a peaceful sleep.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
In the rats previous home, Remus Lupin paced back and forth. He was waiting for the arrival of Sirius Black's parents.  
  
They had notified him the moment that they had found out what had happened and wanted to talk to him about it.  
  
When Mrs. Black popped out of the fireplace first, she walked straight towards Remus and pulled him into a tight embrace. "I'm so sorry Remus, I'm so sorry. This must be awful for you. When I get my hands on my son!"  
  
Remus was about to interrupt her when Mr. Black came through the fireplace. "Remus, Remus, I'm so sorry we have to visit on such unfortunate circumstances."  
  
"It's fine, really. And Mrs. Black, this wasn't Sirius's doing."  
  
"But the paper. . ."  
  
"The paper lied. Peter did all of this."  
  
"Huh?!" they both said, looking at him like he had two heads.  
  
"Let me show you something," Remus said walking to the kitchen. He got the letter Sirius had written to him and brought it out for them to see. They read it together. Mrs. Black started crying when she reached the end.  
  
"You see, Sirius is innocent. I believe him. You should too."  
  
"I knew he couldn't have done those terrible things--and to his best friends. But, Peter?! How could it have been Peter. That boy couldn't hurt a fly."  
  
"It really doesn't surprise me at all. Peter was always out for himself."  
  
"Well where is he?!" Mr. Black yelled.  
  
"Who?" Remus asked, unsure of whether it was Sirius or Peter he was referring to.  
  
"Sirius. It was pretty stupid of him to just leave like that. He knows better than to run away from his problems."  
  
"Did you read the letter Mr. Black. The ministry thinks Sirius did this. Hell, Dumbledore thinks he did it. That was the original plan, as you know. The minute they found Sirius they would have thrown him into Azkaban. You know it. And Harry. . .He'd be sent to the muggles where he'd be treated like dirt. This is for the best."  
  
"But, where is he? He must be terrified! My poor boy!" Mrs. Black yelled in hysterics.  
  
"I'm sure he's fine. Sirius can take care of himself Mrs. Black."  
  
"I know. . .But I miss him. Already."  
  
"Me too."  
  
"Well thank you very much for your time Remus. We appreciate you showing us this. But we must be going now."  
  
"Alright. Take care."  
  
"You as well Remus. If you ever need anything come and see us. We love you. And if you hear from Sirius. . ."  
  
"You'll be the first people I see."  
  
"Thank you, Remus."  
  
"Bye," Remus said as he saw them out through the fireplace.  
  
When they were gone Remus sat on his couch and smiled for the first time since the death of Lily and James. It was such a relief to know that he wasn't completely alone, to know that someone else knew what he did.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
This time Sirius woke up to the sound of knocking. He crawled off the couch where he had fallen asleep and went to answer it.  
  
It was Emily, and she was laughing.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Nice hair."  
  
Sirius looked at his reflection in the window and said coolly, "What you don't like it?" The top part was sticking up in every direction and the bottom part was fluffed up.  
  
Emily just laughed at him. "Come in, make yourself at home. It's not much, which is why I need to get this job. Sit down, I'll be right out." Sirius left for his bedroom and put on some nice clothes and fixed his hair. He then came out again.  
  
"Okay, Harry's asleep right now, I don't know his sleeping habits yet, so I can't tell you when to expect him to wake up. When he does, can you just give him a jar of this stuff," Sirius held up a jar of pureed green beans. "And some of this juice in that little cup."  
  
"I shouldn't be more than two hours. Sorry if you get bored, I've got no source of entertainment yet. . .just play with Harry, he's a fun kid."  
  
"Alright Mr. Black."  
  
Sirius wrinkled his nose. "Don't call me that, call me Sirius."  
  
"But Sirius isn't a name, it's an adjective."  
  
"It is a name, and it's not spelled s-e-r-i-o-u-s, it's spelled s-i-r-i-u- s. It's the name of a star."  
  
"Whatever Si-ri-us," she said with an eye roll.  
  
Sirius just raised his eyebrows. "Thank you again. I'll be back soon."  
  
"Mmmm-hmmm," she mumbled putting her feet up on the couch.  
  
Sirius opened the door and was about to leave when Harry started crying. He shut the door again and picked Harry up out of his crib and rocked him back and forth. Harry stopped crying the moment he was picked up.  
  
"Hey, buddy, look who's here," he said in a soft, kind voice, angling Harry so he could see. He gave a happy smile and made a gurgling sound. "Emily's going to be staying with you for a few hours while I go out. Can you say Emily?"  
  
"Emmy," he babbled.  
  
"Good boy," Sirius said smiling. He kissed Harry on the head. "Bye Harry."  
  
He deposited the baby in Emily's arms and walked to the door. He was about to exit when he heard, "Seewees." He turned and smiled and then finally left.  
  
"So Harry Potter, how are you?" Emily asked Harry. He just looked up at her in awe and grabbed a hand full of her hair.  
  
"Ouch, let go!" she screeched playfully, making Harry giggle. He did as he was told, though and dropped the hair. The two spent the afternoon playing peek-a-boo and crawling around the living room. Harry took an immediate liking to Emily, and the feeling was mutual.  
  
Sirius, however, wasn't having such a great time. When he arrived at the grocery store he was told he'd have to wait fifteen minutes before he was seen. He sat on a bench in front of the checkout lines. Unfortunately, it was a slow day and the guy he had talked to the previous day was working.  
  
"Back again I see? And in better attire!"  
  
Sirius smiled though he was thoroughly annoyed. "Yeah, I did my laundry." Truthfully though he had gotten the clothes at the Salvation Army when he had gotten the couch. He didn't like wearing clothes that once belonged to someone else, but he did what he had to do.  
  
"So what are you doing, applying here?"  
  
Sirius nodded.  
  
"What's your name?"  
  
"Sirius Black," Sirius replied praying he'd believe him, unlike Emily.  
  
"Interesting name. Must be a British thing. My names Justin Witter."  
  
"Nice to meet you," Sirius said quite formally.  
  
"You as well. I hope you get the job, I'll put in a good word for you."  
  
"Thank you."  
  
Sirius was then saved when a customer went through his line, followed by a stream of customers after that.  
  
After almost twenty minutes of waiting the manager came out and called him into his office. He was first asked to fill out an application. It asked for a social security number, and Sirius didn't have one.  
  
"Ah, excuse me? Since I'm a foreigner, I don't have a social security number. I haven't been through all the immigration stuff yet, but I'm going to be. . ."  
  
"That's alright, just leave it empty. Shouldn't allow it, but I will. Hard up for cashiers right now, you see? So we'll just pay you under the table."  
  
"Thanks. I really appreciate it."  
  
"Well, the only problem I see with you is that, well, you're British. Do you know American currency?"  
  
"Not that well, but I'm a fast learner. And they're all well marked, right? Shouldn't be a problem."  
  
"Great, then you're hired. I just need to know when you can start and what time of the day you'd like to work."  
  
"I can start tomorrow if you'd like. I'd prefer to work evenings," Sirius said, thinking ahead on how it would be best to take care of Harry. Emily was still young, she probably went to muggle school. Sirius hoped he could convince her to watch him afternoons.  
  
"And I'd like to have weekends off if you don't mind."  
  
"That's fine, we have plenty of high school kids to work on the weekends. So, take the day off tomorrow, Monday will be your first day. Be here at 3:00 and come see me. I'm going to have Justin train you."  
  
Sirius inwardly groaned, but outwardly smiled. "Thank you. I'll see you Monday then."  
  
He left the office and then went through the store picking up a few more things. He bought juice, milk, cereal, eggs, baby food, extra diapers, and toiletries. He then went to the checkout area and much to his dismay only Justin didn't have a line. So he went there and was annoyed for another five minutes before he could leave. Sirius decided that he was only going to stay at that job until a better one arose.  
  
By that time he had been gone for an hour and a half and already was starting to worry about Harry. Sirius knew for a fact that Harry had never been left alone without Lily or a marauder present. He didn't like the fact that he was no alone with a fifteen year old muggle girl.  
  
Sirius waited for a trolley and hurried home. He opened the door of his apartment to see Emily laying on his couch with Harry on top of her. She was lifting him up and down in the air and he was screeching with delight.  
  
"Hey," he said as he closed the door behind him, smiling.  
  
"Hey, Sirius," she said sitting up and setting Harry in her lap. "Say 'hi Sirius."  
  
"Ay Seewees!" Harry screamed merrily.  
  
"Hey little guy," Sirius said laughing. He walked forward and reached out for him. Emily passed him over.  
  
"Was he good?" He asked after giving him a kiss on the head and rocking him back and forth.  
  
"Well. . ." she said with a fake stern look. "He pulled my hair five times, and tried to bite my finger off. . .but other than that he was wonderful. He's a fun kid."  
  
"That's why I love him," Sirius said.  
  
Emily smiled at him. "Well I have to go home. I have a busy night ahead."  
  
"Okay, thank you so much. I got the job by the way," Sirius said as he fished through his pocket for money. He pulled out a ten and handed it to her.  
  
She looked at the money surprised. "Wow, that's a lot. Most parents only give me two dollars an hour."  
  
"Well it was short notice and I do believe we pissed you off this morning. I really appreciate you doing this."  
  
"Ah, no problem. What else would I have done this afternoon."  
  
"Slept?" Sirius quipped.  
  
She laughed and said, "Probably."  
  
"Ummm. . .do you have a job?" Sirius asked awkwardly.  
  
"Nope," she said.  
  
"Would you like one?"  
  
"Lemme guess, you want me to be Harry's nanny or something?"  
  
"Yeah. I'm going to be working at the store weekday evenings. I need someone to watch him. I'd pay you of course. Maybe not as generously as I did tonight, but as much as I can. Unless you have prior after school engagements that is."  
  
"I don't have anything. . .I think all the school clubs are really corny. I could do it."  
  
"Brilliant! Thank you! You are my new favorite person, you know that."  
  
"Ahhh, I'm everyone's favorite person," she said with a fake smile. Sirius saw through it though and thought he caught a glimpse of sadness in her bright blue eyes.  
  
"So what are you doing tonight?"  
  
"Huh?" she asked confused.  
  
"Well you said you had a busy night ahead, what do you have planned?"  
  
"Oh. . ." she said turning red. "Nothing you'd be interested in."  
  
"Okay then, well I hope you have fun."  
  
"Thanks," she said quietly.  
  
"So Monday, after school, you'll come over here?"  
  
"Of course, I'll be looking forward to it."  
  
"Alright, see you later then."  
  
"Bye," she said and walked out the door.  
  
Sirius then took Harry to the couch and said to him, "That, is a weird girl."  
  
Harry giggled at him and then Sirius tickled him, making him giggle more. Sirius sighed to himself and curled up with Harry on the couch, breathing in his baby fresh scent. It put him at ease and he stopped worrying about the future for a short time. He began playing baby games with Sirius and was having a fairly good time until he looked out the window. His heart caught in his throat. An unfamiliar owl was sitting there staring straight at them.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The End! LOL----so who's the owl from? I promise there will be more action to come later on in this story. I just have to get through some of the basics first and the we'll get to the really fun stuff. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please review! 


	3. Chapter 3

Another chapter, down! I thank you all for reviewing it keeps me motivated. The reason for the lateness of this chapter was that fan fiction.net wasn't working properly and I didn't want to put a new chapter up during that time. Sorry about the delay. Enjoy!  
  
Oh yah, I think I might have a Mary Sue in here so please alert me if this is the case, I think I got a little carried away with a pointless little plot bunny!  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Sirius set Harry down gently on the couch and approached the strange owl carefully. Before touching the letter it carried Sirius looked at the writing on the envelope. It was familiar, but he couldn't place it. Slowly he removed the letter from the owl and unfolded it. He read it out loud in a soft murmur, relief spreading over his face as he read.  
  
Dear Sirius,  
  
Remus showed us the letter you left him, and we believe you too. The poor boy, he seemed so lonely when we talked. I'm so sorry all this has happened to you. We wanted the best for you, and what you have now isn't the best. You should be out meeting women, not hiding from the ministry! We're so sorry all this has happened.  
  
We want you to know that we think you're doing the right thing, though. At first your father was upset that you ran away from your problems, but Remus convinced him there was no other way. What you did was best for you and for Harry. We hope you both are well. I know you aren't the best with kids, never have been, but I bet you're doing a great job. A pointer, music will usually put any child to sleep. If he's crying and you need sleep, play him some soft music, it'll help, I guarantee it.  
  
I hope this letter was helpful, son. Remember that we love you, and miss you greatly. We hope you can come back soon. We're getting old and would like to see you one more time before we die. I'm sure we'll see you again soon.  
  
Love,  
  
Mom and Dad  
  
Sirius was overcome with relief and sadness as he read the letter. The last bit of the letter really hit him hard. He never thought about the length of time he'd be gone. The fact that he may never again see his parents, his relatives, Remus, deeply hurt him, and for the first time since he could remember he just broke down.  
  
He had cried a bit over the past few days, but not like this. Sirius was crying with heart wrenching sobs. Tears were flowing rapidly down his face making large water marks on his shirt. He dropped the letter and crumbled to the floor where he cried into his lap. He cried and cried for a long time, until he could cry no more. He was left with nothing but a pit of sadness in the depths of his stomach. But at that moment, Sirius decided he would cry no more, at least not for himself. Until he could again return to England, Sirius vowed to never shed another tear for any reason.  
  
He dried his face, picked up a book and started reading, trying to forget that anything else existed.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"I swear! He's innocent! I know Sirius didn't do this!" Remus yelled.  
  
"Remus, I want to believe you, I really do, but I know for a fact that Sirius was the secret keeper. James and Lily told me two hours before they did the spell that they were using Sirius. I told them I'd do it, but they refused. Do you really think they'd choose Peter Pettigrew over me?" Dumbledore said.  
  
Remus had gone to Hogwarts the next afternoon to try to get Dumbledore on his side as well. He figured that if anyone could help there cause it was Dumbledore. However, it was much harder to convince him of Sirius's innocence than Remus ever dreamed.  
  
"I don't know why they did it, but I know they did it. Sirius would never do that to them, never! I know him, and I know Peter. Peter would do this!"  
  
"I'm sorry, Remus, I don't believe it. Sirius Black was the secret keeper. Of course he's going to tell you he wasn't so you'll believe him. He'll do the same to you Remus, you mark my words."  
  
"He will not! Sirius Black is not a betrayer, he won't betray me and he didn't betray James and Lily. He has Harry, and Harry's safe. . .I hope."  
  
"So if, Sirius wasn't the secret keeper, and that's a big if, why did he leave, and kidnap Harry no less?"  
  
"Because he was scared. I imagine he still is. He knew people would assume he did it, and like you said, who's going to believe that he wasn't the secret keeper just because he said he wasn't? Peter left to you know? I haven't seen him since the day James and Lily died. He's scared too."  
  
"Yes, well, he didn't kidnap Harry Potter as well, now did he?" Dumbledore said sardonically. Remus was losing more and more respect for his old headmaster as the minutes wore on.  
  
"Sirius has legal custody over Harry, it wasn't kidnap. And it was a hell of a lot better idea than leaving him with his muggle relatives. Have you even met them?"  
  
Dumbledore shook his head, no.  
  
"Trust me, Harry wouldn't have done well there. They're the worst people I've ever met in my life, and with my. . .curse, I've met a lot of bad people. I can't believe you even thought of sending him there."  
  
"With his relatives he'd be safe. With Sirius Black, he's not safe! Sirius Black is a murderer!"  
  
"Ugh, I've had enough!" Remus said and leapt from his seat. He stormed out of Dumbledore's office and slammed the door. Quickly, he ran through the castle, out the door and off to Hogsmead where he apparated home. He wasn't sure if he could ever get Sirius and Harry back to England, back to safety without first finding a certain rat.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Monday morning Sirius got ready for his first day of work and waited patiently for Emily to arrive at his apartment. The problem was, she never came. He waited until the last possible moment and she still didn't come.  
  
Sirius didn't know what to do. He had to work that day as he only had one hundred dollars left of his money. He couldn't afford to not have that job. So Sirius did the only thing he could think of. He went down the hall and knocked on the door that he assumed belonged to Emily and her family.  
  
A girl around the age of five opened the door. Sirius knew he had the right house because like Emily the little girl had Lily's hair. "Hi," she said, half hiding behind the door.  
  
"Hi," Sirius said in the sweetest voice he could muster over his stress. "Is your sister home?"  
  
"Emily?"  
  
Sirius nodded.  
  
"She's hurt, she won't leave her room."  
  
"Hurt? What do you mean hurt?"  
  
"I don't know. . .she got hurt, she was crying."  
  
"Can I see her please?"  
  
"I'll go see!"  
  
Sirius watched the girl run off and then stepped further into the apartment. It was just like his own, but smaller. Sirius noted that it didn't have a very homey feel to it. Maybe that was the source of the girls attitude problem.  
  
"Some guy wants to see you Emily!" Sirius heard the little girl yell. But he heard no response. Hoping the kids parents weren't home, Sirius took it upon himself to try to get Emily out of her room.  
  
He followed the path the little girl had taken and found her sitting in front of a closed door. He knocked firmly on the door and said, "Emily, it's Sirius. . ." he began, not knowing what else to say. "Er. . .why didn't you come over like you said you would?"  
  
"Please go away," was the only response from behind the door.  
  
"I would, but I really need you to watch Harry. . .from what I saw, you really enjoyed spending time with you, and he enjoyed it too. Do you not want to be his babysitter? Am I going to have to find someone else?"  
  
He got no answer. Usually he wouldn't have done this, but he was desperate. Slowly he opened the door. What he saw surprised him greatly.  
  
Emily was sitting on her bed, arms hugging her knees against her chest. Tears were streaming down her face. But that's not what surprised Sirius. As she looked up at him he saw a livid bruise over her eye, a cut on her chin and scraped up arms.  
  
"What happened?!" He asked shocked.  
  
She shook her head and looked away.  
  
"Tell me," Sirius commanded gently, sitting next to her on the bed.  
  
With eyes full of sorrow she looked at him and nodded her head. "I got beat up. . ."  
  
"I see that, care to tell me how?"  
  
"Well, it started off as. . .a cat fight, as they call them. I called this girl a bitch, and well, she didn't take it well. So she started trying to hit me, and I could have taken her, until her boyfriend came over too. . .her boyfriend's really popular, so he soon had everyone in the hallway on me too. . .needless to say. . .I didn't win," she laughed bitterly at this.  
  
"Nobody stuck up for you. . .where were your friends?"  
  
Sirius saw more tears form behind her eyes. "I-I don't really have any. . ." She then started sobbing. Sirius awkwardly put his arm around her and patted her back.  
  
"Kids are jerks," he said knowingly. "They only do that to make themselves feel better."  
  
"I don't think so. . .they just really don't like me."  
  
"Well they should, you're a nice person, who I hope is still nice to me and will still watch my godson, so I can go to work where I need to be in five minutes," Sirius said with a grin.  
  
She smiled through her tears and nodded her head. Sirius pulled her off the bed and led her to his own apartment.  
  
"Okay, thank you so much. When I get back we're going to have a nice talk about you're little bullying situation, alright?"  
  
She nodded and looked slightly embarrassed.  
  
Sirius was about to leave when he thought of something. "Who's staying with your sister?"  
  
"No one. . .my parents generally leave her home alone."  
  
"She can't be more than five!"  
  
"She's not she's four."  
  
"Well she should have someone with her. . .why don't you bring her over here?"  
  
She rolled her eyes and said, "Fine."  
  
"Good, I'll see you in a couple of hours. I think I get out at eight."  
  
"OK, bye."  
  
Sirius left. When he got to the grocery store he was five minutes late. Sirius apologized to the boss and told him it would never happen again. The boss didn't look happy about it, but he was desperate and let it slide.  
  
The day was Hell. Not only did he have to spend nearly six hours with Justin the annoying cashier, but he also had to learn American currency, how to work the register, and deal with the rudest people he had ever met in his life.  
  
Justin told him he was supposed to ask every customer how they were, so he did, every time.  
  
More times than Sirius could count, he was completely ignored, got a rude 'fine', or was told, "I need a pack of Marbs." Sirius was ready to scream at the next person who didn't say, "I'm fine and yourself," or something along those lines.  
  
Needless to say by the end of the night he was ready to go home and crawl into bed. He knew he wouldn't be given that luxury, however.  
  
When he walked through the door he smiled to himself. Emily's little sister was sprawled out on her back, sleeping on the floor. Harry was lying in the crevice of Emily's arm, who was also on the floor, leaning against the couch. Her head was tilted all the way back and she was snoring quite loudly.  
  
He let them be for a little while and changed his clothes in his room. He then went out and picked up his godson. Harry woke when he did this, but didn't cry. He just smiled at Sirius and mumbled, "Seewees."  
  
"Yeah, I'm here."  
  
"Did you have fun tonight?" Harry just looked numbly at Sirius who then tickled him, making him giggle. Sirius bent his head and kissed Harry and then rocked him back and forth a bit in his arms. He was back to sleep in minutes. Sirius set him in his crib and sat down on his couch.  
  
He tapped Emily's shoulder and then shook it. Slowly she woke up and looked into Sirius's face.  
  
"Oh. . .sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep," she said, trying to wipe the sleep out of her eyes.  
  
"It's okay."  
  
"How was work?" She asked and moved from the floor next to him on the couch.  
  
Sirius groaned, "Terrible, absolutely terrible. I never knew people could be so rude."  
  
"I did."  
  
"I know. . .So about your-er-situation. . ."  
  
She looked down at her lap.  
  
"Tell me, again, what happened today."  
  
"Okay. . .I was switching classes and this girl, Hillary, bumped into me and didn't apologize or anything. So I called her a bitch, under my breath, but she heard me. . .and she walked up to me and smacked me. . .so I smacked her back. No one does that to me."  
  
"And then. . ."  
  
She sighed, "And then her boyfriend came over and knocked me down. . .then his friends did the same, and soon everyone who could get near me was either pulling my hair or kicking me. . .you think my face looks bad? You should see my legs and back."  
  
"I can't believe the whole school did that to you."  
  
"They did. . .they're all a bunch of assholes."  
  
"You must have provoked some of them though," Sirius said gently, not wanting to piss her off. It didn't work.  
  
"I didn't do anything to them! I was just trying to get to class!"  
  
"Calm down, calm down. . .I mean in the past. Did you treat them the way you treated me that day I met you?"  
  
"Maybe. . .But I don't treat people like that unless they make me mad."  
  
"What do they do to make you mad?"  
  
She looked down, "I don't know."  
  
"Yes you do know."  
  
Sad eyes looked up at him, "They make me mad because. . .they don't. . .they don't include me. I moved here two years ago, and I was the new kid. No one likes the new kid, no one makes friends with the new kid. . .it's social suicide. So they never talked to me. . .and I got angry, and you see what that got me."  
  
"That sucks."  
  
"Gee, you think?"  
  
"You need to lose that attitude. . .I think that accounts for half of your problems. People aren't going to want to talk to you if they think you're going to bite there heads off when they say one thing."  
  
Again, she looked down.  
  
"So tomorrow, you're going to go back to school, you're going to hold your head up high, and you're not going to say one rude thing. . .not one. Nobody's mean to someone who's nice."  
  
"I don't think I can go a day without being rude to someone."  
  
"Save it for after school then and you can be rude to me."  
  
"I really don't think you understand what this is like."  
  
"You're right, I don't. I had four of the best friends in the world when I was in school. James, Lily, Remus and Peter. Now two of them are dead, one should be, and like me the other's all alone. So right now, I do know what you're feeling like. Right now, I don't have any friends either. . .but it must be a lot harder to have that problem when you're growing up. That's when a lot of tough stuff happens."  
  
"Yeah it does," she said softly.  
  
"So, where are your parents?"  
  
"My Dad's back in Boston, that's where we're from. My mom is always working. She works double shifts at the hospital, so the only time I see her really is on the weekends and when I'm up really late."  
  
"I'm sorry to hear that."  
  
"Yeah, well. . .that's life, right?"  
  
Sirius nodded.  
  
"Well, you should get home, get your homework done, get that little one to sleep. What's her name?"  
  
"Sammy."  
  
"Isn't that a boys name?"  
  
"It's short for Samantha."  
  
"Oh," Sirius said feeling rather stupid.  
  
"Thanks, Sirius. . .I don't know if any of this will be helpful, but thanks for trying."  
  
"Not a problem. Just, don't let it happen again, okay. I don't like seeing bruises."  
  
She smiled and nodded. Then, she got up and woke Sammy. "C'mon, time to go home."  
  
"I want to stay here, please, Em," she said groggily. Sirius smiled.  
  
"No, we have to go home. You have to sleep in your bed or mom will worry."  
  
"Okay," she mumbled and let her sister help her to her feet.  
  
She opened the door and then jumped a mile.  
  
"Where the hell have you been?!" Sirius heard coming from the hall. Emily backed into the apartment. The owner of the voice followed her and stood in the doorway, revealing a woman in her early forties. Her hair was a light shade of red which at the moment matched the color of her face. "I come home early to spend time with my girls and find the apartment empty! Empty! Do you have any idea how that made me feel?!"  
  
"Mom, I was babysitting! I told you the other day that I was going to be babysitting for the new neighbor!"  
  
"You little liar! You told me no such thing!"  
  
"Yes I did, and you said, "That's great dear." Maybe if you want to know stuff you should listen once in a while!"  
  
"Emily, you're coming home now!" she screeched, stomping her foot and pointing down the hall. Emily moved to walk past her, but her mother grabbed her by the chin.  
  
"What the hell happened to you?! Did he do that to you?!" She shrieked pointing at Sirius.  
  
"No, mom! This happened at school. He was at work all night, I was babysitting for him! Don't you listen?!"  
  
"I don't want you spending time alone with a grown man! He's probably just like your father!"  
  
Emily turned crimson and stepped back inside the apartment and slammed the door in her mother's face.  
  
Sirius looked at her shocked. "Go sit down." She didn't move. "Now!" he said forcefully. She did. Sirius then opened the door and stepped outside.  
  
"Okay, Miss, I think you need to calm down," Sirius began.  
  
"Calm down? Calm down! My daughter is in there with bruises all over her. Do you know who used to do that to her?"  
  
Sirius flinched not really wanting to know.  
  
"Her father!" the woman screamed. "That's why we moved here, to Rhode Island, so that she wouldn't get hurt anymore!"  
  
"Okay, I just talked to her about all this. I told her how to get along better with the kids at school. . .She's going to try. Please calm down."  
  
"I can't calm down," she moaned and sat down against the wall.  
  
She stayed there for a few minutes with her head in her hands and then looked up at Sirius. "I'm sorry I accused you of doing those things, I just.worry."  
  
"It's understandable, but just to let you know, I'm not going to hurt your daughter in any way. I'm just a single guy trying to raise my godson."  
  
"You're godson?"  
  
"Yeah, his parents died about a week ago. It's still fresh in my mind. . .and his. The reason I picked your daughter to baby sit him is that she has the exact same hair as Harry's mother, Lily. It puts him at ease. It's like she's not really gone, understand?"  
  
"Yes, and I'm terribly upset about my. . .outburst. The stress is just getting to me."  
  
Sirius nodded. "If I let you back in do you promise not to verbally attack your daughter?"  
  
She blushed and nodded.  
  
"And your name is?"  
  
"Oh, sorry. . .I'm Julie, Julie Dalton. . .for now. But I do intend to change that name."  
  
Sirius nodded his head and said, "I'm Sirius Black."  
  
"It's nice to meet you."  
  
"And you."  
  
Sirius opened the door revealing two crying girls. Emily was hugging her little sister and they were both sobbing. Julie started to as well when she walked inside.  
  
"I'm sorry, baby," she cried sitting down and hugging both her daughters. Emily pulled roughly away and went to stand by Sirius, as though she wanted him to protect her.  
  
Sirius put his hand on her shoulder and gently pushed her forward, whispering, "Talk to her." Emily gave him a hopeless look and walked back to the couch, sitting as far from her mother as was physically possible.  
  
"I'm sorry, honey. I'm sorry I don't listen to you, I'm sorry I'm not around much, I'm sorry you've been hurt. . .I'm sorry I just lost my temper, but honey, you scared the hell out of me. I'm just so sorry, honey."  
  
Sirius saw Emily's lip tremble and tears started running again. Julie moved closer to her daughter and wrapped her in a tight hug. Sirius smiled to himself when he saw that this time Emily wasn't breaking away. She was hugging back.  
  
After they hugged Julie pulled back and dried her daughters tears. Emily smiled at her.  
  
"Let's go, honey, I think we've intruded on Mr. Black enough for one night," she said grinning at Sirius.  
  
"No problem," Sirius said. "Have a nice night." He walked to the door and opened it. Julie grabbed Sammy in her arms and walked out the door. Emily followed but stopped before walking out.  
  
"Remember what I said," Sirius said. "I don't want to see another bruise on you tomorrow."  
  
"Right," Emily said with a nervous smile. "I'll try."  
  
"Good. See you later."  
  
"Night," Emily said and then left the room.  
  
Sirius closed the door behind her and then leaned against it, sighing heavily.  
  
What a night. He was glad he had helped the family out a little, but it was too hectic for his liking.  
  
Sirius went to bed that night more exhausted than he had ever been. The stress of his situation was overwhelming, and he really wasn't all that happy. He didn't know how long he could live like he was now, as a muggle, as a parent, as a cashier.  
  
Three years later he was still going at it, but he still wasn't happy.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
So next chapter shows life three years later. I didn't want to make such a jump, but as one reviewer said, I shouldn't make this like the Real World. The action will be happening fairly soon and there will be some happy and some unhappy reunions.  
  
BTW, Sirius will not be hooking up with Julie, Emily's mom. If it sounded like they would I'm sorry, but really, the way I figured it she's almost twenty years older than him, and I really don't want that.  
  
This is graduation week at my school, so I have many events, so I don't know when the next chapter will be out. Should be ready in at least a week and a half. Depends on how many marching practices we have. . . : ) 


	4. Chapter 4

The action begins a little in this chapter. It will fully appear in the next chapter. I'm excited! I hope you enjoy this chapter, I had a good time writing it!  
  
Okay, this is the third time I'm going to attempt to put this up. I was going to put it up Wednesday before all my graduation stuff happened, but the site was down. I actually thought I had put it up though, and was like, wow, not one review, that really sucks. Then I come to find out that no one had reviewed because I never posted it. So here it is, finally.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Those first three years passed in a hurry. Harry got big, and learned to walk and talk. Sirius learned to be a good father figure and aged twice as fast as he would have otherwise. He hadn't been ready for responsibility, but when he had to, he took it.  
  
The full three years Sirius worked at the same grocery store. He didn't love it, but it earned him enough to live comfortably with Harry in their apartment and buy new things when they needed to.  
  
What surprised Sirius the most, however, was that he had found happiness there in Rhode Island with Harry. He still missed James, Lily, Remus and his parents greatly, but he was still happy. He had made new friends, the Daltons, and several of his co-workers. He had fun with Harry, he loved Harry.  
  
However, for the second time in his life, Sirius soon found out what it was like to have his world turned upside down.  
  
It started when he was at home one Saturday afternoon, trying to teach Harry a little magic. When an owl flew through the window. He recognized it immediately as Remus's. Over the years Remus occasionally sent him a few letters telling him what was going on in England, and what rumors there were about Sirius. They usually held no great news, nor any terrible news, until that day.  
  
Sirius,  
  
I know you haven't heard from me in a while, and this time, you're not going to want to. I write today with very bad news. Please promise you won't do anything rash, but there has been an attack. It appears to be a deatheater attack, though their still hasn't been any sign that Voldemort has actually risen once again. The attack was on your parents, Sirius. I'm sorry, they're both dead.  
  
Sirius dropped the letter without reading the rest and felt himself start to shake. Voldemort was the cause of all Sirius's pain. He took James and Lily away, forced him away from his parents, Remus, and England, and now he caused more deaths of people he loved. Sirius felt anger surge through him and he clenched his fists. He wanted to cry so badly, but he didn't let himself. He remembered the promise he made to himself the last time he cried and wanted to stick to it.  
  
Sirius gritted his teeth and picked Remus's letter back up and read on.  
  
I'm really worried about how you're going to react to this, Sirius. Please promise me you won't do anything to put yourself or Harry in any danger. You have to stay wherever you are, because that's safe. I wish you could come to the funeral, but don't. No matter what, don't. I'll go, and I'll report back to you on it. I'm so sorry it happened, and that I have to be the bearer of bad news.  
  
I have a lot more to tell you, but now's not the time. You have a lot to think about right now. Just remember I'm still on the lookout for Peter, and whoever did this to your parents. To be honest I wouldn't be surprised if they were one in the same.  
  
Take care of yourself,  
  
Love Remus  
  
Sirius bit his lip and put the letter in a drawer. He then pulled a fresh piece of paper out and wrote a letter back to Remus.  
  
Remus,  
  
Thanks for telling me. I can't believe their gone. Though I missed them terribly over these last years, I miss them so much more knowing I'll never see them again. But I'm glad I know. I can't believe there's still deatheater activity over there. I thought I was on the run with Harry just to keep myself from Azkaban, and Harry from the muggles, but it appears I also have to be on the lookout for them. They have ways of finding me, even here, and that scares me more than you'll ever know. Please keep me posted on all other suspicious activity over there, because there is a good chance it'll affect me over here, and I still can't tell you where here is, especially now.  
  
I love you and miss you, and miss them, so much I could cry right now, but I won't. I've made a vow never to cry again, and so far I've kept it. I hope I can still. I'm sure you can see by the writing how hard that is for me. Life really sucks. Just when it's getting good something like this happens and slaps you right in the face. Take care of yourself Remus, and keep in contact, because once the letters stop I'm going to assume they got you too.  
  
Love Sirius  
  
Sirius tied the note to Remus's owl and watched it fly out the window. As he watched it go he longed to be what it carried below it's magnificent wings, flying back to England. But he was rooted firmly to the spot, shaking like a leaf.  
  
Just then the door to his apartment opened and Sirius whipped around, expecting to see a deatheater. He sighed in relief when he saw that it was just Emily.  
  
"Sirius. . .are you okay? You're shaking like crazy." She went to shut all the open windows in the apartment, mistaking the shaking for shivering.  
  
Slowly Sirius moved to the couch and sat down. She went and sat beside him and looked at him expectantly. When he didn't say anything she asked again, "Sirius, are you okay?"  
  
Sirius shook his head, signifying that no, he was not okay.  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"I don't want to talk about it," Sirius whispered, knowing that if he said anymore than that he would completely lose his already unstable composure.  
  
"Okay. . ." she said uncertainly. "Do you want to be alone?"  
  
Sirius nodded.  
  
"Do you want me to take Harry out for a while?"  
  
Again Sirius just nodded. He then looked at her and said, "Please."  
  
Emily smiled uncertainly, "Sure thing."  
  
Sirius watched Emily move down the small hall of the apartment to Harry's room. She then emerged holding Harry's hand as he skipped along beside her.  
  
She sighed as she looked again at Sirius, "Are you going to be okay? You look awful."  
  
Sirius just nodded and spread his arms signifying he wanted Harry to come to him. Harry ran forward as he was expected to and jumped onto Sirius's lap.  
  
"Hey bud," Sirius whispered. "Emily's going to take you out for a little while, okay?"  
  
Harry looked sadly at Sirius like he knew something was wrong, but he nodded his head anyways.  
  
"Give me a hug," Sirius whispered, his voice catching slightly.  
  
Harry stood in Sirius's lap and wrapped his arms around his neck. Sirius squeezed him tightly and kissed his messy head.  
  
"Now go with Emily," Sirius muttered. Harry did this, almost reluctantly. When they reached the door Harry turned back and gave Sirius the most meaningful look Sirius had ever seen on the young child's face. It was almost like he could feel Sirius's pain, even though he didn't know what was going on. Sirius felt his lip tremble as he watched the door shut.  
  
"Screw my rule," Sirius thought as he let the tears fall down his face. He cried for a good fifteen minutes straight, thinking about all the things he had missed in England. He missed his parents last three years of life. He would never see those people he loved so dearly again. Sirius couldn't understand why life had to be so tough.  
  
He actually cried himself to sleep there on the couch that day and was woken a couple of hours later by Harry's return. Harry had climbed onto his chest and decided to take a nap of his own. Sirius opened his eyes and saw nothing but black. Harry's hair was blocking the rest of the world from vision. Gently Sirius patted Harry's back trying to wake him up. He heard Harry groan lightly and lift his head off of Sirius's face.  
  
Harry sat up straddling Sirius's stomach. Sirius picked him up under the arms and sat both of them upright on the couch. Harry was sitting on Sirius's knees facing him.  
  
"What were you doing laying on me like that?" Sirius asked in a kind voice.  
  
"I wanted to take a nap too," he said. Harry had a slightly British accent, but it was nowhere near as strong as Sirius's.  
  
"But you never want to take naps."  
  
"I did today."  
  
"Why's that?"  
  
"Because you were. . .and you seemed sad."  
  
Sirius smiled at the little boy in his lap. He was sometimes overwhelmed by how sweet a four year old could be.  
  
"And you wanted to make me feel better?"  
  
Harry nodded smiling broadly. Sirius couldn't help but wrap his arms around him and give him another kiss on his forehead.  
  
"I love you Harry."  
  
"I love you!" Harry screeched happily. Sirius tickled him then and Harry squirmed off him laughing. He then strutted to the other end of the couch where he sat in feigned resentment, but he was given away when the corners of his mouth kept turning up and he'd try to turn them back down . Sirius laughed at him and he smiled back. Harry could never stay mad at Sirius for long, whether it was real anger or fake anger.  
  
"Did you have fun with Emily today?"  
  
Harry shook his head.  
  
Sirius looked startled. Harry always had fun with Emily. "Why, what happened?"  
  
"I couldn't have fun."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Because you were sad."  
  
"Yes, I was sad, but that doesn't mean you couldn't still have fun."  
  
"I was sad because you were sad."  
  
Sirius laughed lightly and dragged Harry back to him. He tucked Harry under his arm and stroked his hair, and with his little godson next to him, Sirius could handle the stress that came with his parent's deaths. Harry gave him the strength he needed to move on.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Over the course of those three years, Peter Pettigrew had made himself quite cozy at the Burrow. Every member of the family liked the lazy rat, especially the young and annoying Ronald Weasley. But Peter was loving his life of leisure. He lived comfortably doing no work and having a diet of Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans that were always lying around the house and the table scraps everyone fed him. Life was good for Peter Pettigrew.  
  
However, one day, while the family was out Peter turned back into his human form to read the paper. He did this whenever he got the chance. The front page headline that day was, "Deatheater attack on the Black Family: Could the son be behind it all?"  
  
Peter laughed harshly at the headline, but read the article with curiosity. Both Mr. And Mrs. Black had been killed by the Avada Kedavra curse and the dark mark was left over the house. The article alluded to the fact that Sirius had probably been behind the deaths and focused on the fact that there was again deatheater activity about. Peter looked down at the dark mark on his own arm. It was dull, which meant that the Dark Lord had not risen, but perhaps there was a plot for him to rise again.  
  
Peter changed quickly back into his rat form and fled the house, never again to return to the Burrow  
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
That day Remus read the article as well. He shook his head in disgust when he saw reference to Sirius in the headline. The man hadn't been seen in over three years, but he's still being accused of more murders. Sirius was the furthest thing from a murderer Remus could think of.  
  
A few minutes after that he received the return owl from Sirius. It was almost impossible to read, the writing was all over the place. Remus was willing to bet that Sirius's vow to never cry had already been broken. The letter revealed to Remus that Sirius was all torn up inside, and he needed to cry to heal. Remus's only hope for Sirius was that he had somebody there to comfort him. He had no idea how much comfort Harry alone could give him.  
  
What Remus wanted more than anything was to see his friend again. To help him through his pain and to inadvertently help himself through the pain. Remus got his chance a week later, but it was extremely against his will.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Peter made his way through the forest to a cave where he knew deatheaters would often meet to discuss there new plans. When he arrived there was nobody around, but he knew people would show up eventually.  
  
And they did. After he waited almost half a day a small group of deatheaters showed up. Peter recognized them as Lucius Malfoy with his sidekicks Crabbe and Goyle. Also there were Macnair, Knott, and some other people Peter had never been introduced too. All together there were nearly ten deatheaters there, counting Peter.  
  
He listened to them talk a bit before he revealed himself.  
  
"I can't believe they still think Black is capable of these things. That buffoon wouldn't last ten minutes as one of us," Malfoy said arrogantly.  
  
"Yes, well, that was the one good thing that moronic Pettigrew was good for. Nice framing, not even that idiot Dumbledore realizes Black isn't capable of such things," Macnair muttered.  
  
"If only Pettigrew were intelligent enough not to let the Dark Lord go as well," spat Knott bitterly. "Do you think he meant for it to happen?"  
  
"Not sure. . ." Malfoy said pensively. "He seemed pretty loyal to Voldemort, however, he was once one of those silly Marauders."  
  
Peter listened to this and did the first brave thing he had ever done in his life. He turned back into his human form in front of the deatheaters.  
  
"What the Hell?!" Crabbe yelled dumbly.  
  
"You're wrong," Peter said as bravely as he could. "I did not know that our lord would meet his downfall that night. I thought I was doing the best for him that night."  
  
They all looked at him skeptically, evilness glinting in their eyes.  
  
"I swear! I was as surprised as the rest of you."  
  
"Then why, may I ask, haven't we seen you in over three years?" Lucius said with a cocky smirk.  
  
"I'm sure Sirius Black kept in touch with some people. . .if I had stuck around someone would have questioned me, and I'd probably have gotten caught. But this way, everyone still thinks it was Sirius."  
  
"So why are you showing up now?" Lucius asked suspiciously.  
  
"Because I read about his parents and knew you guys were at it again. I want to help, and I have a plan."  
  
"I'm listening," Lucius said and Peter told the group his plan.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~ After the news of his parents' deaths Sirius went back to his normal routine. He was still working the same hours, at the same position, at the same grocery store. It was a monotonous life, but Sirius liked it well enough.  
  
About a week after the news from Remus, Sirius came home from work one day and was walking down the hallway towards his apartment when he heard Harry screaming. He ran to the apartment and threw open the door to find Harry bawling into Emily's shoulder as she held him in her lap, obviously trying to comfort him, but looking scared herself.  
  
When Harry saw Sirius he jumped off of Emily and ran to Sirius, still screaming. Sirius bent down and picked the shrieking child up. Harry wrapped his arms around Sirius's neck and cried into his shoulder.  
  
"What's going on?!" Sirius asked, completely bewildered.  
  
"I have no idea," Emily shrieked, almost hysterical herself. I put him to bed at seven, like you asked, and he was just fine then, and then he woke up screaming about fifteen minutes ago and hasn't stopped since. I couldn't get him to tell me what was wrong."  
  
Sirius nodded and rocked Harry gently back and forth trying to calm his nerves, but nothing worked.  
  
"Thanks Emily, you can go now, I'll deal with this. I'll see you tomorrow."  
  
"Okay," Emily said sounding relieved. "Come get me if you need me."  
  
Sirius nodded and watched her go. He then brought Harry over to the couch and sat him down.  
  
"Harry, it's okay. I'm here. What's wrong?" Sirius asked gently.  
  
The boy just kept on crying. He was shaking so hard Sirius was worried he might be having a seizure or something.  
  
"Harry, buddy, tell me what's wrong," Sirius said kindly, but forcefully too so that Harry knew he meant business.  
  
He stopped screaming, but was still crying and whimpering into Sirius's chest.  
  
"Harry, tell me what happened, did you have a nightmare?"  
  
"Yes," Harry whimpered.  
  
"What was it about?"  
  
Harry looked up at him with terrified bloodshot eyes. "The bad men are coming."  
  
"The bad men, what bad men?"  
  
"The bad men. . .they're dressed like--they're dressed like black ghosts."  
  
Black ghosts? The first thing Sirius thought of were deatheaters. He didn't think it possible that Harry would remember what they looked like, but he was somehow seeing them in his dreams.  
  
"What did the black ghosts do Harry?"  
  
"They--they said they were coming to take me. And-and that they were going to kill you." Harry started crying again.  
  
"Shhh, Harry it's okay. I'm not going to let them get you. They'll never take you from me, and they're not going to kill me. They want to get us, but they can't. They can't find us, alright?"  
  
Harry nodded and sniveled softly.  
  
"Everything's going to be alright."  
  
Again Harry sniveled.  
  
"Lets get you back to bed now. . ." Sirius started.  
  
"NOOO!" Harry yelled fiercely.  
  
"Harry, you need to go back to sleep."  
  
"No," Harry mumbled in a terrified voice.  
  
"Do you want to sleep with me tonight?"  
  
Harry's face brightened slightly and he nodded his head. "C'mon," Sirius said. He grabbed Harry's hand and lead him to the bathroom where he helped him wash his tear stained face.  
  
Sirius then got Harry settled on his king size bed and got ready to go to sleep himself. Harry sat up waiting for Sirius to get into bed. When he did, Harry snuggled up beside him. Sirius stroked his hair gently and waited for him to fall asleep. Once he did Sirius kissed the top of his head and then turned on his bedside lamp and found a pad of paper. He hurriedly scribbled Remus another note.  
  
Remus,  
  
What the Hell is going on over there? How much deatheater activity is there? I'm getting worried. Harry just had an awful nightmare and said there were bad men coming. They said they were going to take Harry away and kill me. He described them as black ghosts. The only thing I can think of are the deatheaters. What do you think? One things for sure, I've never seen Harry so scared after a dream. He thought it was the real thing, and usually he knows the difference. I'm really worried. Please stay on the lookout for us, and tell me if you find anything.  
  
Love Sirius  
  
Sirius then crawled out of his bed carefully as to not wake Harry and got out his wand which he rarely used these days. He summoned a post owl to him and sent it to Remus's after giving it a small payment of wizards gold, of which he still had a little.  
  
He then went to get a glass of water. With a shatter he dropped the glass a he heard a very high pitched, "SIRIUS!" Sirius cursed aloud as bits of glass fell over his feet. He then saw Harry running straight towards him with bare feet. Harry paid no heed to the glass and ran straight for it. Sirius dove to get him before he did, and caught him just in time, lifting him to eye level.  
  
"Where were you!" Harry yelled in his face. Tears were pouring out of his eyes as he flung his arms around Sirius's neck and hung there, bawling. Sirius sighed to himself and hugged Harry close to him.  
  
"I just went to get some water, Harry. I'm not ever going to leave you. Calm down. Shhh. . ." Sirius whispered more soothing words to him until he settled down.  
  
"I'm going to put you on the couch, and then clean up the mess I just made, okay?"  
  
"You won't leave me?"  
  
"No, I'll never leave you. You'll be able to see me the whole time.  
  
"Okay," Harry mumbled and let go of Sirius when he set him on the couch. Sirius pulled out his wand again and cleaned up the mess quickly. Harry wasn't too surprised to see the magic performed, though he usually got excited when he saw it. This time he was only mildly amused.  
  
Sirius then returned to the couch and held out his hand, saying, "Let's try this again."  
  
Harry grabbed Sirius's hand tightly and they trooped back to Sirius's room together. Harry tried to climb up on the bed but was too short so Sirius had to give him a boost. He was quite impressed that Harry had been daring enough to jump off the bed when he realized Sirius wasn't there. It was quite a ways down for him.  
  
Sirius stretched himself out comfortably on his bed and buried Harry and himself under the covers. The moment he was completely settled he heard Harry moving around and then felt him on top of him. Harry had decided that rather than trust Sirius not to leave him he would have to force him not to leave him. Sirius laughed at this and put an arm over Harry's back so he wouldn't roll right off the bed.  
  
"You comfortable, Harry."  
  
"Mmmmm," Harry murmured. Sirius rubbed his back slightly and they both fell into a deep sleep. Neither of them knew how intense the next day would be.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
For the record, this chapter was completed and ready to be posted on Tuesday, June 10th. However, fanfiction.net, at least for me, is not working, so who knows when I'll actually get it up.  
  
I hope you liked this chapter, I really did. I had a hard time at first and went through several different scenarios, and I like the way it turned out. The action is starting. Next chapter will hopefully have a lot. This story I'm hoping will go on to about ten chapters. But it could be shorter than that. It will definitely not be In Need of Sirius Help length, or else it will be like the Real World, as one of my lovely reviewers told me. And though I like the Real World, I too do not want this story to become that.  
  
Please Review! 


	5. Chapter 5

This chapter I think will become quite predictable, sorry about that, but the ideas in my head can only be reached with predictability. I'm no JKR when it comes to that, that's for sure. So I hope you like it.  
  
Secondly, after this chapter goes up I'm heading to the scene of the story. For 2-3 days I'll be in the hopefully sunny city of Newport Rhode Island. I can't wait. The last time I went it rained a whole lot, but I still thought it was beautiful. This time I think I'll be able to see more of it. Maybe I'll be a dork and pick out which grocery store is Sirius's and which apartment building. . .but probably not, lol. I'm really excited and nervous at the same time, so yeah, can't wait!  
  
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As the sunlight poured through the windows of Sirius's bedroom, he slowly creaked open his tired eyes. With the ordeal he had gone through that night with Harry, he needed more sleep than he was getting. He knew, however, that he had to get up anyway.  
  
Harry still lay asleep in the bed which was way too big for him. Over the night he had wiggled off Sirius, leaving only his arm upon his chest for protection. Sirius laughed slightly at the little boy beside him and sighed. He then climbed out of bed and hurried to the shower.  
  
As he showered he thought about what last night meant. Why would Harry suddenly be having dreams about deatheaters coming? Sirius couldn't contemplate how, if it were just a dream, Harry would know what they looked like or what they wanted to accomplish. After all, he was only four.  
  
Sirius decided that it must be some sort of sign that there is a lot more deatheater activity than was previously thought. The one thing Sirius hoped was that Harry had misinterpreted that the deatheaters were coming to take them away.  
  
As Sirius was about to turn off the water he heard a bloodcurdling scream. He didn't even bother to shut off the water, he just jumped out of the shower, through a towel roughly around his waist and belted out of the bathroom. He found Harry still in the bed, still asleep but with tears running down his face. He was thrashing in the bed in a manner that terrified Sirius beyond belief.  
  
"Harry! Harry wake up!" Sirius said running closer to his godson and shaking him as gently as he could in his panicked state.  
  
But when Harry didn't wake, Sirius felt his heart constrict. Sirius ran out of the room and grabbed his wand.  
  
"Enervate!" he yelled when he got back. Harry immediately stopped thrashing. He looked around in a panicked and bewildered state and then just started bawling. Sirius picked him up, sat him on his lap and rocked him back and forth. After a few minutes Harry calmed down.  
  
"Are you okay?" Sirius asked huffily as he was out of breath from running around in sheer panic. "What happened?"  
  
Harry just chewed on his lip nervously. He had stopped crying but he still looked terrified.  
  
"Did you have another nightmare?"  
  
"Yes," Harry said looking down. Harry leaned his head against Sirius's side and clung to him. Sirius wrapped a hand around Harry's head to hold it there and gently stroked Harry's head in a calming gesture.  
  
They sat like that for a while until Sirius sighed. He pulled Harry off his side and set him on the end of his knees, so that he was facing him.  
  
"Was it the black ghosts again?"  
  
Harry sniffled and nodded.  
  
"Did they say anything this time?"  
  
Harry looked at him dumbly for a few moments and then shook his head, "I don't remember."  
  
"What happened this time that scared you so much?"  
  
Again Sirius received a blank stare until Harry said, "They were here. They-they tried to-to. . ."  
  
Sirius almost didn't want to hear the rest, but motioned for Harry to finish anyway. "What did they try to do?"  
  
"They did something with a wand. . .like you have."  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"You fell. I was scared."  
  
"What happened after that?"  
  
"They came at me."  
  
Sirius breathed sharply and looked at Harry expectantly, but he drew back. He didn't like Sirius's reactions to what he was saying.  
  
"Harry you need to tell me what else happened."  
  
"Why? You don't like it."  
  
"I know I don't like it, but you need to tell me so I can be sure that it doesn't really happen. Do you understand?"  
  
Harry nodded and Sirius could tell he was scared at the prospect that it may really happen.  
  
"What happened when they came at you?"  
  
"They picked me up and took me out of here."  
  
"Where did they take you?"  
  
"I don't know, that's when you woke me up."  
  
Sirius nodded, unsatisfied. He wanted to know why Harry was now having these dreams. For a fleeting moment he thought of the wards he had around him. The anti-tracking spell should work on every person in England with the exception of Remus. It was meant to block people who wanted to cause him harm. That covered the majority of the people who knew the name Sirius Black.  
  
So Sirius decided it would be best for both he and Harry to stay put and go on with their usual routine. Sirius thoughts on the subject were interrupted though when he felt a tapping on his bare chest.  
  
He looked down to see Harry's lips trembling and his eyes glassy. "Are you mad at me?" Harry asked in a tight voice. Sirius watched a tear fall from the glassy eyes.  
  
"No, Harry, not at all. Why would I be mad at you?"  
  
Harry shrugged his shoulders but let free the tears he had been trying to hold back. Sirius pulled him close and whispered in his ear, "I'm not mad at you at all Harry. I'm just mad at the black ghosts that are trying to scare you, okay?"  
  
Sirius felt Harry nod into his chest but he wouldn't stop crying.  
  
"Harry it's okay now, I'm not mad at you and the black ghosts aren't here."  
  
Again he felt Harry nod. Sirius carefully pried Harry off of him and set him back.  
  
Sirius laughed at the sight of him. "Look at you. I soaked you. Lets go get you changed, shall we?" Harry nodded sadly. Sirius leaned into him so they were eye to eye, and with a look of faux cheerfulness he said, "Cheer up, we're going to be just fine." Harry looked reassured and smiled back at Sirius.  
  
Harry clambered down from Sirius' legs and they both stood up. After readjusting the towel around his waist he grabbed Harry's hand and they walked down the hall to Harry's room. Sirius went to the drawers and pulled out a fresh pair of underwear and threw them to Harry. He caught them and giggled. Sirius did the same with the socks and got the same reaction.  
  
He then moved over to the closet and got him the rest of his clothes to wear that day. Harry hurriedly put them on but as always needed help buttoning his pants. Sirius helped him out.  
  
"Are you all set?" Sirius asked. Harry nodded with a smile. Sirius smiled back and then walked to his room. He stepped inside with a sigh and was about to shut the door when he found something obstructing its path. Harry was standing there expectantly.  
  
"What are you doing bud?"  
  
"I can't let the black ghosts get you."  
  
Sirius smiled weakly and knelt down in front of Harry. "I've tried to tell you Harry. The black ghosts aren't going to get me. I need a little privacy though bud, is that alright?"  
  
Harry looked up confused. Sirius sighed again and said, "Do you want to watch TV?"  
  
Happily, Harry nodded. He led Sirius out of his room and into the living room. Sirius turned it on PBS where Big Bird was trying to jump rope. Harry started laughing and Sirius couldn't help but smile at him.  
  
Even though Harry wasn't really his child, Sirius often felt like he had created him. Lily and James had unfortunately left him before he really had any personality, before he knew very much at all. Sirius took him from that age and turned him into the wonderful kid he was. Pride overtook him at moments like those.  
  
While Harry was engrossed in the show, however, Sirius went to dry off and change. He cursed at himself when he heard the water still going in the bathroom and hurried to shut it off. Then, he walked tiredly to his room and put some clothes on.  
  
When he returned to the living room less than fifteen minutes later he found Harry sound asleep on the couch. He couldn't help but smile, yet in the back of his mind he worried what another nap might bring. Every time Harry had gone to sleep in the last 24 hours he had woken up screaming or crying. Sirius could only hope that this time it would be different.  
  
Just in case another dream popped up Sirius decided to stay by Harry's side. He settled down next to his godson, flicked the TV to reruns of Happy Days, and got completely lost in thought.  
  
He didn't notice when Harry rolled over and landed half in his lap. Nor did he notice when Harry began thrashing again. Sirius was in a complete trance, staring off into the world of Fonzie, Richie, and Chachi. He wasn't paying attention to what they were doing, but he was constantly aware of how they always seemed happy.  
  
Sirius snapped out of his trance when he felt two tiny arms around his neck and felt wet tears in the same vicinity. For the umpteenth time that day Harry was in a mess of tears.  
  
"Shhh, Harry it's alright. Remember what I told you? The black ghosts aren't going to get you. They'll never get their hands on you or me. They're just trying to scare you. Don't let it work."  
  
Harry just continued to sob so Sirius just whispered calming things to him and rocked him back and forth. "It's okay, Harry. I'm here. I'll never leave you. You're safe now. . ." etc. It did have the effect on Harry that Sirius was going for, as Harry climbed off of Sirius and settled beside him instead. Sirius put a hand over his head and messed up his already messy hair. He then leaned over and kissed the top of it and rubbed Harry's arm.  
  
"Are you okay?"  
  
Harry nodded and rested his head against Sirius's side. Together they watched Happy Days for another hour or so. Harry trying hard to keep his eyes open. When Sirius realized Harry was about to fall asleep again he decided he didn't want him to. Soon Sirius was going to have to go to work and he wanted Harry's mind to be as far from the black ghosts as possible when Emily came over.  
  
"Hey, Harry, you want to play Candy Land?" Sirius asked as Harry's eyes had started to droop. Those eyes immediately sprung back open and his tired look was replaced by an excited one.  
  
"Yeah!" he yelled and jumped off the couch in search of the game. Sirius laughed to himself and waited patiently for Harry to come back. They played the game over and over, Sirius letting Harry win each time, until it was time for him to go to work.  
  
Sirius was dreading this time. He knew leaving Harry that day would be like cutting off his own arm. There was no way Harry was going to let him leave without a fight.  
  
Yet, of course, the time eventually came. Fifteen minutes before Emily was due to come over Sirius sat down with Harry. The boy could tell that he was about to be told something he wouldn't like and sat there looking like he was going to cry.  
  
Sirius took hold of one of his little hands and looked at him. "Harry, in fifteen minutes Emily's going to be here, and I'm going to have to go to work. . ."  
  
"NO!!!" Harry yelled urgently and sprang forward towards Sirius. He tightly wrapped his arms around his neck and stuck himself there as permanently as he could. Sirius sighed to himself.  
  
"Harry, I know you don't want me to go, but I need to. Remember last month when I was really sick? Because of that I can't take anymore time off work. I have to go or we might lose everything we have here."  
  
"But what if you lose me?" Harry muttered. Sirius was shocked. He didn't know how that idea could ever cross the mind of a four year old, but it apparently just had.  
  
"Harry, no one's going to take you from me. We're safe here. I'm almost one hundred percent certain. If anything happens here, I'll be back in a flash to take care of you. I won't let anything happen to you."  
  
"You can't stop anything when you're at work," Harry mumbled. Sirius felt that Harry was shaking now. He wished nothing more that he could cure Harry's fear with the swish of his wand. However, nothing was ever as easy as it seemed.  
  
"Harry, just trust me that you will be fine. I'm sorry I have to leave you. I don't want to, but I have to. Do you understand?"  
  
Sirius felt Harry nod.  
  
"Good," Sirius said and pulled Harry off him and sat him directly in front of him. "Now here's how tonight's going to go. I'm going to make sure Emily knows that you're scared tonight. I won't have her put you to bed, you can wait until I get home. Sound good so far?"  
  
Harry nodded solemnly.  
  
"Okay, I'll tell her to do things with you that won't make you think about the black ghosts."  
  
Again, Harry nodded.  
  
"And finally, I ask that you don't tell Emily anything about the nightmares or the black ghosts coming. This is like magic, Emily's not to know about it. Alright?"  
  
With a final nod from Harry, Sirius stood up. He grabbed Harry's hand and said, "Let's get you a snack before she gets here."  
  
Harry finally smiled and walked happily behind Sirius. After giving Harry a small bowl of ice cream Sirius got dressed for work and then waited with Harry for Emily to arrive. When she did he pulled her aside and said, "For tonight I want you to ditch the old routine. Try to keep him occupied all night if you can. Just play games or let him watch TV. Just don't leave him alone, or let him fall asleep."  
  
"You don't want him to go to sleep at all? He's a little kid, he's going to be exhausted."  
  
"I know, but just try. He's having really bad nightmares, and I want to be here when he has them. So please, try."  
  
"Sirius, I've babysat him for over three years and never once has he stayed awake the whole time. It's not possible."  
  
"All I'm asking is that you try."  
  
"Okay. . .I think you're being pretty stupid though."  
  
Sirius rolled his eyes, used to her snippy remarks. "Good. Thanks, I appreciate it."  
  
He turned from Emily and went back to Harry. Squatting in front of him he said, "Time for me to go, Harry. I'll see you in a while, okay?"  
  
Sirius saw the tears welling in Harry's eyes and did not want to see them fall. "Harry, you need to be brave here, okay? I'll be back very soon. Emily will be here. She'll make sure nothing happens to you."  
  
Harry nodded and blinked a few times.  
  
"I love you Harry." Sirius said and kissed the top of his head.  
  
"I love you," Harry replied sadly. He proceeded to walk over to Emily, where he stood solemnly looking at the ground. Sirius shook his head and looked out the window. It was raining. He grabbed an umbrella from a closet, said goodbye, and walked out the door.  
  
Emily looked down at Harry once Sirius left and saw that he was still fighting back tears. She knelt in front of him and said, "What's wrong little guy?"  
  
"I'm scared," he muttered.  
  
"Why are you scared?"  
  
Harry remembered what Sirius had said and just shrugged his little shoulders.  
  
Emily saw his lips tremble and watched as a tear streamed down his face. She had no idea what he was so sad about, but figured he wouldn't tell her anyway. So she just took his hand and lead him to the spot where Candy Land was still spread out over the floor.  
  
"Lets play."  
  
Harry nodded and tried to wipe his face.  
  
As before, the game took Harry's mind of his nightmares and Sirius's current absence. They played until dinner time and after dinner they switched to Chutes and Ladders. It became apparent that Emily was ready to kill herself due to the agony of playing board games such as those with a four year old, but she did what she had to do to keep him happy.  
  
However, when she suggested they stop and watch TV for a while instead, Harry fell asleep. Emily remembered what Sirius had said, but decided Harry needed his sleep and didn't wake him up.  
  
At the grocery store, Sirius was having a bad night. He had already had at least five complaints that he had forgotten to give people their change, and he broke two cartons of eggs. His patience was being tested hard, and he was as worried as he had been the night of James and Lily's death.  
  
As the night wore on, Sirius's feelings heightened. His senses told him that something was awry, but he wasn't sure what. He knew he had to get home as soon as he could. So he faked sick and got out an hour early.  
  
When he arrived in the hall he found it deathly quiet. His nerves were more tense than they had ever been as he walked quickly to the door and with slight hesitation he threw the door open.  
  
He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Emily sitting on the couch watching TV. Harry's head was resting in her lap, fast asleep.  
  
Emily smiled when she saw him and said, "Told you I couldn't keep him awake all night. And don't worry, he didn't have any nightmares. . .yet."  
  
Sirius nodded seriously.  
  
"Are you okay? You don't look so good."  
  
"I'm fine," Sirius croaked and wiped sweat from his brow.  
  
"Are you sure? What's going on? Why are you home early?"  
  
"I'm fine, really," Sirius said trying to recover a bit from his worry. "I was just feeling a little under the weather so I asked to come home early. So he was fine?"  
  
Emily nodded suspiciously. "You don't look sick. . .you look like you've seen a ghost."  
  
"Don't worry about it, Em, I'll be fine. Thanks for watching Harry. I'm sure it wasn't one of his better nights."  
  
"You're right, it wasn't. If I ever have to look at Candy Land or Chutes and Ladders again I may just up and kill myself."  
  
Sirius laughed lightly and walked her to the door.  
  
"Bye, Em. See you tomorrow."  
  
"Bye," she said and shut the door behind her.  
  
Sirius sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He had never felt so relieved in his life.  
  
He walked up to Harry and kneeled in front of the sleeping child and gently stroked his hair. Never had Sirius ever been so worried about someone as he was that night. Harry had become his world and he didn't know what he would do if he lost him.  
  
Harry stirred slightly in his sleep and Sirius worried that it would be another dream, but he just rolled over and continued sleeping. Sirius gently picked him up and brought him to his bedroom. He changed Harry out of his clothes and into comfy pajamas, then tucked him away in bed.  
  
Then Sirius went to his own bed where he sat down and then simply passed out.  
  
He woke the next morning with the sun pouring through the window. Both he and Harry had slept straight through the night. He was very relieved at this.  
  
After yawning loudly and stretching, Sirius climbed out of bed and padded down the hall to Harry's room. He smiled when he saw Harry rubbing his eyes with little fists, trying to wake himself up.  
  
"Good morning, Harry," Sirius said cheerfully.  
  
"G' morning," Harry mumbled tiredly. Sirius walked up to him and sat next to him on the bed.  
  
"How'd last night go?"  
  
Harry looked up confusedly.  
  
"Did you have fun with Emily?"  
  
"Yup."  
  
"Did you have any nightmares?"  
  
"Nope."  
  
"Are you still scared?"  
  
Harry just nodded. Sirius rubbed his head gently.  
  
"We're going to be fine."  
  
Harry smiled meekly.  
  
"Do you have to go to work today?" he asked in a hopeful voice.  
  
Sirius nodded sadly.  
  
Harry's expression darkened but he just said, "Okay."  
  
"Good boy. How about a bath?"  
  
Harry shrugged. Sirius grabbed his hand and led him into the bathroom. After turning the water on and adding bubbles he helped Harry get undressed. He then sat Harry on the toilet seat and tried to entertain him while the bathtub was filling. Harry was unimpressed by all efforts, however, and actually yawned as he watched Sirius.  
  
Sirius didn't mind though. He knew Harry was scared beyond belief and just wished he could put an end to it all. He was relieved when the water was high enough for Harry to get in. Harry had lots of toys to play with while in the tub, so Sirius was happy to see that he was fully entertained then. Sirius sat on the toilet seat and watched him play, making sure he didn't drown. When Harry was ready, Sirius helped him wash his hair and rinse off all the soap. Sirius then cloaked him with a big fluffy towel and walked with him to his room. He again helped Harry get dressed and then took him to the living room and fed him breakfast.  
  
After this Sirius took him his favorite park until it was about time for Emily to be coming over.  
  
Saying goodbye to Harry was easier that day then it had previously been. This time Harry trusted Sirius when he said they'd be fine. It worked one night, why wouldn't it work the other?  
  
So Sirius headed to work and had a much better night than the previous. He had no run-ins with rude customers and he gave everybody the right change. He was relieved at this and headed home in a fairly good mood.  
  
When he arrived in the hallway it was again very quiet. He figured it was the same case as last night that Harry had fallen asleep and Emily was trying to be quiet for him.  
  
However this time when he opened the door he was met with the shock of his life.  
  
Remus Lupin was standing in the middle of his living room, an evil smirk playing over his face. He saw Emily bound and gagged in the corner, looking absolutely terrified and Harry was nowhere to be found.  
  
"Welcome home, Sirius," Remus said and then laughed more harshly than Sirius had ever heard him in all of his life.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
And that's all. If you can guess what's going on, I'm not surprised. I meant to write this a little differently so it wouldn't be so predictable, but I did a bad job of that. Please keep reading anyway, however, there's still a lot more to come, and I'm sure there will be a few surprises on the way.  
  
Oh, and wish my luck in Rhode Island, I'm very, very nervous!  
  
Please review! 


	6. Chapter 6

Sorry this one took so long. But with my trip to Rhode Island and then OOTP coming out, you know, it takes time.  
  
By the way, OOTP was awesome, except for one little detail that really, really set me off. But in case some of you haven't read it I'll keep my mouth shut on that issue. By the way, as of right now there are no OOTP spoilers, but I can't guarantee it'll stay that way.  
  
Thank you to all who reviewed, and especially to those who gave me a "Happy Birthday" or a "Have fun in Rhode Island" Both were very successful thanks. Rhode Island was gorgeous and the weather was nice. I highly recommend everyone go there. It's my new favorite place! And for my birthday I ditched going to the movies with my buds to play Bingo with the 'rents. I didn't want to, but the movie, Hollywood Homicide apparently sucked, so I didn't miss much! And now I'm rambling and I'm sure no one cares.  
  
Enjoy the chapter!  
  
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"Rem-Remus?!" Sirius whispered as his old friend approached him slowly, wand raised in front of him. He shot a quick glance at Emily and saw tears of fear streaming down her face. "Where's Harry?"  
  
"Sirius, Sirius, Sirius. Where do you think he is? Wormtail's got him. They're already back in England I suppose. He asked me if I'd be willing enough to stay here, kindly greet you and keep you up to date."  
  
"Wormtail took Harry...and you let him?! What the Hell is going on?"  
  
"Ah, Sirius, you trusted me did you? Thought Wormtail was the only one to turn against you and James? Looks like you were wrong, huh?"  
  
Sirius backed slowly to the wall, absolutely terrified. He slowly inched to the left hoping to reach the drawer that held his wand as discretely as possible. Remus followed every movement he made. He really had no idea what to do, or what Remus's plan would be.  
  
"Where do you think you're going Sirius?" Remus asked maliciously.  
  
"Nowhere...Remus. Why are you doing this? I can see why Peter went over to the dark side, but you? How-how could you?"  
  
"I don't really feel like getting into that right now, but I suggest that you STOP moving towards that drawer! Crucio!"  
  
Sirius fell to the floor and started screaming in pain. White-hot heat was surging through his body, causing him to convulse. Only one other time in his life had Sirius been under the Cruciatus curse. It was during a deatheater attack in Hogsmead when he was still in school. Despite the terrible pain he was in, he realized that it was nowhere near as bad as it had been back then. In fact as the curse was held on him the pain lessened and lessened until it was an almost tolerable tingling sensation.  
  
At that point Sirius looked up at Remus with an odd expression and then came a look of understanding.  
  
"Fight it Rem! Block out the voices!"  
  
For a few seconds the curse got more powerful and then more weak. It wobbled like that for a while until the curse stopped all together.  
  
Remus stared at him with a terrified expression. He let his wand drop to the floor and then fell to his knees. Sirius crawled towards him and put a hand on his shoulder.  
  
"Imperious?"  
  
Remus half nodded, "I'm so sorry...I'm so, so sorry."  
  
Sirius nodded in response and gave a hint of a smile to his old best friend. He then rose from the floor and went to untie Emily.  
  
"Who the Hell is that?! Why aren't you doing something?! How could Harry be in England?!"  
  
"Shhh, Emily, calm down. This is my friend Remus...a few minutes ago he was under what we like to call the imperious curse, meaning somebody else was controlling his actions. He fought it and is now his normal self, I think. I haven't seen him in three, long, years."  
  
"Sirius! Are you nuts? He helped kidnap Harry, he's the one who tied me up, and there are no such thing as curses!" Emily shrieked.  
  
"You're wrong there, Emily. I don't have a lot of time to explain though because I have to go find Harry...please just take my word for it."  
  
Emily nodded, reluctantly.  
  
Sirius turned from her and went back over to Remus. "What are they planning on doing with Harry?" he asked urgently.  
  
"I-I don't remember, hold on, and let me think."  
  
Sirius let him think for nearly five seconds and then repeated his questions.  
  
"I'm not sure Sirius, they really messed with my head. I just know that they planned to take him back to England. They think having him may help bring the Dark Lord back...I just don't know where they planned to take him."  
  
Looking stricken, Sirius nodded. "Well," he said, "I have to go back to England then. I'll search every house, every forest, everywhere, until I find him."  
  
"Sirius, you can't go back to England! Everyone still thinks that you gave away James and Lily's location. They're going to take you to Azkaban for that!"  
  
"Azkaban? Even if I did give away their location it wasn't murder...and they'll probably give me a trial anyways and I'll explain everything. They'll have no choice to believe me. Now how shall we get there? Apparate or portkey?"  
  
"Sirius you can't go! You can't, I'll go back, I'll find Harry and I'll bring him back to you. After all, it's my fault they took him."  
  
"No it's not Rem, you couldn't help being under the imperious...don't put this on yourself."  
  
"It was my fault, if it weren't for me they'd have never found you here...if I hadn't done a search for you."  
  
"They made you!"  
  
"No, they didn't," Remus said, rather ashamedly. "I looked it up over a year ago...I had to know where you were to make sure the ministry wasn't too close. They had crazy theories that you were in China, Australia, Mexico...I had to be sure, so I could warn you if they got too close."  
  
Sirius looked down. "I told you not to try to find us."  
  
"I know, that's why I feel so guilty about this."  
  
"It's still not your fault, Remus...but we can't waste time on this now, lets get going."  
  
"Sirius, I mean it, you can't go. What good will it do for Harry if you go there and are instantly thrown into Azkaban? What'll he do then?!"  
  
"I won't get caught. Who over there doesn't think I did it?"  
  
"Just me."  
  
"What?! I thought there were...a few others."  
  
"Well there's Wormtail and various deatheaters, but no one who can really help us out."  
  
Sirius ran a hand through his hair. He then rushed to the drawer he had been inching towards earlier and ripped it open. He withdrew his wand and spoke quickly, "Are you still at the same flat?"  
  
Remus nodded.  
  
"Good, follow me there."  
  
"Sirius what are you doing?!" Emily shrieked.  
  
"I'm going to go find Harry."  
  
"With a stick?"  
  
"It's a wand."  
  
She smirked through her worry.  
  
"It is! I'll explain everything to you when I get back, okay...and please keep this all under wraps. If anyone asks where we are, say that we had a sudden emergency...and can you also tell the store that I won't be in for a while...they'll probably fire me, but I can deal with that."  
  
She nodded and tears filled her eyes. "It seems like you'll never be back...and Harry..."  
  
"It'll be okay, I swear. You'll see us both again, soon. That's a promise."  
  
Again she nodded and then very unexpectedly she ran forward and through her arms around Sirius. He patted her back awkwardly as she sobbed into his chest.  
  
Sirius gently pried her away and put a hand on both of her shoulders. "I have to go now, before they can hurt him."  
  
She nodded with a terrified expression.  
  
"Go on home, try to forget about us for now. I'll make sure you're the first to know when we're back."  
  
She wiped her eyes and nodded again. "Take care of yourself, Sirius."  
  
"I will. Bye, Em."  
  
"Bye," she said and then walked out the door.  
  
Sirius shut the door behind him and sighed. He looked at Remus and said, "Are you ready?"  
  
Remus looked like he was ready to fight some more about Sirius returning, but didn't. He simply nodded.  
  
"Good," Sirius said and then with a pop apparated out of the apartment. He arrived seconds later in the place he used to call home. Briefly he looked over it and found that nearly everything was as it as it used to be. This was with the exception that anything that Peter Pettigrew once owned or was a large part of was gone.  
  
A few minutes later Remus apparated into the room. He found Sirius sitting on the couch with his head in his hands.  
  
"I don't even know where to begin looking," he moaned helplessly. Remus sat next to him and put a supportive hand on his shoulder. Sirius looked up and sighed, "I've missed you so much Rem."  
  
"I missed you too Sirius...I honestly didn't think I'd ever see you again."  
  
"I had doubts on that too."  
  
"Why'd it have to be like this?" Sirius asked sadly. "Of all the reasons to see you again why'd it have to be because Harry was kidnapped?"  
  
Remus noticed that his eyes were slightly glazed over.  
  
"What if we don't find him?"  
  
"We will, we will," Remus said.  
  
Sirius nodded gently and tried to compose himself but found it extremely hard to do.  
  
Remus just rubbed his back gently.  
  
"Where do we begin?" Sirius asked after a few minutes.  
  
"I think, we should try some tracking spells. It'll probably work best from you, as you seek him most desperately. Have you been doing a lot of magic lately?"  
  
"Barely ever," Sirius muttered, "I couldn't let any of the neighbors see, and Emily was over most of the time..."  
  
"That muggle girl? She looked just like-"  
  
"Lily, I know, that's why we kept her," Sirius said with a short laugh. He stopped when he realized he was really in no mood to be laughing. There was no time to laugh, nor was there time to catch up with his old friend.  
  
"Well, the fact that you haven't done magic much could hinder the effects a bit. But, it's worth a shot. We should both try...do you remember the different tracking spells?"  
  
Sirius nodded seriously and went through them several times in his head.  
  
"Ready?" Remus asked.  
  
"You bet."  
  
"Okay, lets go." Remus held his wand in front of him and began muttering incantations. Sirius did the same. Both men had their eyes firmly shut.  
  
After nearly five minutes Remus sighed and opened his eyes back up. He had not found any sign of Harry. Yet when he glanced at Sirius he saw that his friend was still going. Plastered on Sirius's face was the most desperate expression Remus had ever seen. His heart almost broke for his friend.  
  
After nearly ten minutes more of trying Sirius let out a strangled sob and opened his eyes. He shot to his feet and started kicking the chair by the fireplace with all his might. "Why?! Why? WHY!!!!!" he screamed and gave the chair one final kick and successfully knocked it backwards.  
  
"Sirius...we can try again. It took me a while to locate you when I tried. These kinds of things take time," Remus said calmly.  
  
"Time? TIME! I don't have time! Every minute that Harry is wherever he is, is a minute too long! Who knows what they're doing to him now! He could be-he could be dead!"  
  
"He's not dead, Sirius, don't say that. You'll find him, I know it."  
  
Sirius just settled himself roughly on the floor and shook his head. He brought his knees to his chest and buried his head in them, wrapping his arms firmly around the top of his skull.  
  
Remus kneeled down next to him. "Everything will be alright, Sirius, trust me."  
  
Sirius just shook his head again.  
  
"We'll find him Padfoot."  
  
Slowly Sirius lifted his head from his knees and looked up at Remus. His lip was trembling as he tried to hold back his emotions. Remus put an arm over his shoulder, which was like opening a floodgate. Sirius completely lost control. He sobbed into his best friend's shoulder for well near fifteen minutes before regaining composure.  
  
"I'm sorry, Rem."  
  
"It's highly understandable Padfoot. You love Harry like he's your own, right?"  
  
Sirius nodded, frowning.  
  
"And now he's gone...but we WILL find him. Right now, I think what we both need is a little sleep. First thing tomorrow we'll start looking for him again, okay?"  
  
"I can't sleep, Remus...there's no way."  
  
"Trying couldn't hurt. You'll take your old room. You remember where everything is of course?"  
  
Sirius nodded but didn't move.  
  
"I think you should go now," Remus said in a kind yet firm tone.  
  
After looking malevolently at Remus he stood and trudged out of the living room and down the hall to his old room. He was stunned to see that it was exactly as he had left it. It actually appeared as though no one had ever been in it, except for one thing.  
  
On his wall above his bed Sirius kept pictures of himself with all of his friends. Still hanging were the one with him and James, him and Lily, him and Remus, and him and James, but there was a spot missing in the middle, the picture of him and Peter. Had Remus been there when he noticed it, Sirius would have thanked him for it.  
  
Trying not to look at any of the pictures still left on the wall Sirius sat down on his old bed. He lounged back and breathed in the smell of his pillows. He noticed they still held the smell of the cologne he wore those years before James and Lily's death. The memories that came with that smell overwhelmed him. Yet, Sirius couldn't stand thinking of anything but Harry.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Harry was absolutely terrified. One minute he had been happily watching TV, curled against Emily, and the next he was being carried away by two of the black ghosts from his dreams.  
  
He had since learned that they were not ghosts. Rather, they were men dressed in black who carried wands much like Sirius's. Much to his displeasure, there aim was to do exactly what he had dreamed of. Already he had been taken from the warmth and comfort of his home, and when he asked about Sirius, he was told that he would be killed shortly.  
  
Currently, Harry was on the hard dirty floor of a cave with his back against the cold wall. Where this cave was, Harry did not know. All he knew was that in all his life the only place he had seen a cave was on TV. In those caves there were always scary things like bats, bears, and monsters. He hadn't seen anything like that yet, but his fear was just as intense as it would have been if he had.  
  
All Harry knew was that he wanted Sirius, and Sirius was nowhere to be found. He wanted to be out of the cave, but there were black ghosts all around him. There was no way he could get out.  
  
He watched in complete terror as the deatheaters milled around him. Occasionally they stopped and threw him menacing looks, but mostly they left him to his own devices. Not a single one touched him or hurt him in any way, but Harry's dreams of the men who were now his captors reminded him of how dangerous they could be.  
  
That night Harry fell asleep against the cold stone wall of the cave with tear stained eyes. Before drifting off he had, like a mantra, been repeating, "Sirius, Sirius, I need you," over and over in his head.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
As he told Remus he wouldn't, Sirius was unable to sleep. He lay awake all night staring at the ceiling. Several more times that night he tried the tracking spells but saw nothing but fog.  
  
Around 3:00 in the morning he gave up on sleep all together and wandered out of his room to the kitchen. He poured himself a glass of milk and sat at the kitchen table contemplating things.  
  
Never in his life had Sirius felt like more of a failure. His duty was to watch out for Harry, and there he goes letting him get kidnapped.  
  
Sirius could have kicked himself for not listening to Harry. He should have listened more closely to the dreams Harry had been having. He should have realized that those visions of deatheaters were far too accurate to be dreams. But he didn't realize, and now he didn't know where Harry was.  
  
He leaned back in his chair sulkily and sighed, trying to wipe the sleepiness out of his eyes.  
  
"You okay?" he heard and nearly fell backwards in his chair. Sirius caught himself on the edge of the table and straightened up. Remus had just walked into the kitchen wearing only a pair of striped pajamas.  
  
Sirius just shook his head. Remus sat down opposite him and stared expectantly at his best friend.  
  
"What?" Sirius asked moodily.  
  
Remus just shrugged and leaned back. It was quite an awkward moment. "I just thought you'd-like to talk."  
  
Biting his lip Sirius thought about this and then said, "I wouldn't mind talking, but what's there to say? Harry's gone, neither of us know how to get him back...that's all there is to it."  
  
"You're right...so you haven't thought of any other possible ways to get him back?"  
  
"I tried...but everything I can think of needs more people. Where are we going to get more people?"  
  
"Well," Remus started cautiously. "You're not going to like this, but I was thinking I could enlist Dumbledore's help."  
  
"Dumbledore?! You told me he thought I was guilty of betraying Lily and James, of being a deatheater. How could he possibly help?"  
  
"He may want to throw you into Azkaban the second he sees you, but ever since that night when you took Harry, he's been worried sick about him. I tried to convince him that as long as he was with you he was in safe hands, but that, of course, didn't work. So now if I tell him that you've told me he's been kidnapped he'll help search for him. He just can't know that you're here as well."  
  
"But if he finds him he won't give him back!" Sirius yelled.  
  
"We'll find a way, Sirius. You can take Veritaserum, we can still possibly find Wormtail, you know?"  
  
"You can't tell Dumbledore."  
  
"Sirius, would you rather have Harry taken away from you or Harry dead? That's what this may very well come down to."  
  
Shaking his head Sirius got up from his chair and kneeled in front of Remus. He put his arms firmly, almost painfully around Remus's arms. He talked in a painstakingly slow, hard voice, "You can't tell him...we'll give it two days, okay? If we don't find him in two days you can do what you want."  
  
Remus stared at him, contemplating, and then nodded his head. He saw Sirius's lip tremble as it had earlier and patted his shoulder. "It's going to be okay," he whispered.  
  
Sirius nodded and choked back his tears.  
  
"I'm such a fucking failure," he muttered darkly, sitting down, right there on the kitchen floor.  
  
"You are not, Sirius. You've raised Harry for three straight years, and from what I saw turned him into a wonderful kid. It's not your fault that Harry got taken away. Hell, it's more my fault than it is yours."  
  
"It IS my fault! I didn't listen. Harry knew this was going to happen! He had dreams about the 'Black Ghosts' coming. I told him it would be alright, and for two nights in a row I just left him there with a muggle girl who knew absolutely nothing about the situation! How does that not constitute me being at fault?!"  
  
"Harry had dreams about it?"  
  
Sirius nodded ruggedly. "And I told him it couldn't happen, that they couldn't find us."  
  
Remus looked down, "And that's where it becomes my fault."  
  
"No-no it doesn't. This is all me. I should have known that they could find us. I bet they could have even if you hadn't looked for us. And you had good reason to do what you did, Rem. You probably could have saved us by doing what you did. I'm sure someday somebody else could have found us."  
  
"Well it doesn't matter whose fault it is...it's really the fault of the deatheaters, isn't it? They're the ones to blame here."  
  
Sirius nodded. "How the Hell are we going to do this?"  
  
"I guess there has to be a way. But I imagine we can't find that way until we get some sleep."  
  
"Remus, I can't sleep. I tried. My mind keeps wandering to Harry and where he could be and if he's hurt. Poor kid."  
  
"Well you need some sort of rest why don't you go lay down on the couch and watch some TV?"  
  
Sirius just shrugged and got up off the floor. He walked slowly into the living room and flopped onto the couch. He reached for the remote and flicked it on. He didn't bother trying to find anything interesting. Rather he left it where it was and ended up watching bass fishing. He wasn't really paying attention to it. In fact he was completely zoning out.  
  
Remus came out with a pillow and blanket for him and he didn't even notice. He just lay there on the couch staring at the TV, but not really seeing it at all.  
  
He was more looking past the TV, searching with his mind for Harry. At first all he saw were old memories of Harry. He almost laughed when Harry popped up in his head dressed as a big orange pumpkin for his first muggle Halloween.  
  
Yet, Sirius pushed through those memories and tried to focus on the present. It took a while, but eventually a new image of Harry came into his mind. There he was wearing the clothes Sirius had helped him put on that morning. Tears were streaming down his face and he was trembling. Sirius reached his arms up as if to pull him towards him. When he grabbed nothing but air, Sirius snapped out of it. His vision of Harry was gone.  
  
Sirius clapped a hand to his head and groaned quietly. Tears of frustration were looming behind his eyes. He tried with all his might to get the vision back again, but there was nothing he could do to bring it back.  
  
Sirius let the tears stream down his face as he stared up at the ceiling, feeling like more of a failure than ever. He then tried to gain control of himself. He knew it would do himself nor Harry any good to sit here crying.  
  
After composing himself, he sat straight up and concentrated again. He pictured the vision he had earlier and it eventually came back to him.  
  
He took in every last detail of where Harry was, and what was around him. Harry was in a cave. There were small plants growing inside it, so it must have been close to an opening. Deatheaters were milling around all the time, there were at least twenty of them. Sirius made sure he engraved these facts deeply in his mind and was about to stop watching and tell Remus, when he heard something.  
  
"Sirius, Sirius, I need you," in Harry's voice echoed through his mind.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Do you like? I originally had a slightly different vision of this chapter, but overall, I think I like the way it turned out. Please tell me what YOU think!  
  
Next chapter should be out shortly as I have no big plans for the fourth of July weekend. 


	7. Chapter 7

Just to reiterate, I'm an American and I know nothing about geography in England. I also don't know the name of any towns, anything, except London...so to any British people this chapter may seem a little stupid in that sense, but I hope I do alright with it anyway.  
  
I also have a slight OOTP spoiler in here, but it's very small and insignificant. It could also very well be wrong. Does anyone remember if the Weasley's were in the Order the first time around. I'd go check but I lent one of my bud's my copy, so right now I have no idea...feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. I'll probably leave it even if it is wrong, but I'd still like to know.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The next morning Remus came down the stairs and found Sirius staring up at the ceiling. His eyes were rimmed with red and seemed to have sunk deep into his skull. He didn't even notice Remus's presence in the room.  
  
"Sirius..." Remus said.  
  
Remus jumped back as Sirius sat straight up and said, "He's in a cave!"  
  
Sirius looked around at Remus frantically and jumped off the couch. He grabbed Remus's shoulders and repeated, "He's in a cave! He's in a cave and he needs me Remus! He's in a cave!"  
  
"He's in a cave? Harry?"  
  
Sirius nodded wildly and gripped Remus's shoulders. "We have to go to the cave and find him!"  
  
"Do you know where the cave is? How do you know he's in a cave?"  
  
"I saw him...he was crying. There were deatheaters all around him and he was scared. Terrified! And he-he was calling for me, and I couldn't go to him! I need to go to him now!"  
  
"Sirius, where's this cave?"  
  
"I don't know...but I know what it looks like. I saw it! Do you know where there's a cave Moony?!"  
  
"I know a few, but there must be hundreds of caves in England."  
  
"It was a big one and there were plants near it so it was in the sunlight."  
  
Remus nodded and racked his mind trying to think of where it could possibly be. "Let's eat some breakfast and then we'll start searching every cave I can think of."  
  
"No Moony, we have to go now...we can eat when we find Harry. He's probably pretty hungry too!"  
  
"Sirius, you're already running on zero sleep. You need some food or you're going to pass right out before we make it to any cave."  
  
With a defiant look at Remus, Sirius turned to the door and made to open it but before he got a chance Remus had yelled, "Petrificus Totalus!"  
  
Sirius froze and fell backwards with a thud. Remus squatted next to his head. "Listen up Sirius. You're not going to go anywhere until you eat something. Harry's been gone over eight hours already. Another hour isn't going to kill him. Now I don't know what they plan to do with him but I'm quite sure they didn't take him just to kill him and get on with it. Whatever they're going to do is going to take more than a day. Harry's probably not having a great time right now, but he's going to be okay.  
  
"And another thing. You can't be so stupid. You were just about to walk straight out the door. Do you not realize that every witch and wizard in the country is still looking for any sign of you? Anybody could have seen you. For my sake, your sake and Harry's sake, use your head. If we're going to do this we're going to do it right."  
  
Remus looked down at him. "Now I'm going to undo this. Please, please, please do not do anything stupid and for once just listen to me."  
  
He looked for a sign of understanding but of course Sirius couldn't move a single muscle.  
  
"Finite incantatem."  
  
"Don't ever do that again Remus!" Sirius said defensively.  
  
"You know what would have happened if I hadn't."  
  
Sirius looked down.  
  
"C'mon let's eat."  
  
Sirius nodded and sat loftily on the chair. He was trying to pretend that what Remus had said hadn't bothered him at all. It had.  
  
Remus had been right. Sirius was being extremely stupid about the situation, but that was really all he could be. He was worried sick about Harry and figured that with out him nothing mattered anyway. Yet, he did need to take care of himself or he wouldn't be able to get Harry back no matter what.  
  
They ate their frosted flakes in silence. Sirius was staring at the soggy flakes floating in his bowl while Remus was zoning out appearing to be quite interested on a nail hole in the wall.  
  
When they were both about done Sirius broke the din saying, "I'm sorry Moony."  
  
"What for?"  
  
"For being an idiot and making you resort to extremes."  
  
"It's okay...I know how you must be feeling. Don't worry about it...Just try to listen to me once in a while, alright?"  
  
Sirius nodded. "So, where do we begin?"  
  
"Well there are a few caves just outside London that they may use. They're in very secluded areas. I think we should check those out first."  
  
"We'll apparate?"  
  
Remus gave him a look. "I don't think it's a good idea for you to go apparating back and forth throughout the country all day. The ministry probably has some type of detectors out there for any trace of you doing magic. You probably shouldn't have apparated last night."  
  
"I'm not staying here Remus," Sirius yelled, quickly losing his temper again.  
  
"God, Sirius, I know! Would you just listen?!"  
  
Sirius looked at him sheepishly and mumbled an apology.  
  
"I want you to transform into your animagus form and I'll apparate us both there."  
  
"If we're popping all over England that's going to drain you."  
  
"I'll make it...and I'll recuperate tonight."  
  
"Okay...can we go now?"  
  
"Transform."  
  
Sirius stood up and closed his eyes and seconds later was on four legs, covered with black fur. Remus couldn't help but smile at the memories the sight brought back to him. He didn't have time to dwell on those, however and grabbed hold of the dog around it's neck. With a loud bang they left Remus's house and suddenly appeared in a wooded area on a hillside.  
  
Remus immediately took off towards a rocky area and put his hand over his wand. He looked down at the dog that was shaking its furry head slowly.  
  
"What?"  
  
Sirius trotted off into an area of denser undergrowth and transformed back into his human form.  
  
"He's not there."  
  
"How do you know?"  
  
"I can't smell him. If he was here I'd know it."  
  
"Okay, transform again and we'll go to the next one."  
  
Sirius did as ordered and they were soon near the next cave. Again he shook his furry head. He did the same at the next eight caves they went to.  
  
Near the end of the day they had checked so many caves without a trace of Harry that both had lost a lot of the hope they had been holding.  
  
Sirius transformed back into his human form around 7:00 PM deep within a forest. He sat roughly on a rock and put his face in his hands. Remus saw how tense Sirius looked and didn't know what to say to his friend.  
  
"We're never going to find him, are we Moony? You're going to have to tell Dumbledore and he'll come to the rescue like he always does...but it won't be a real rescue...who knows what he'll do with Harry."  
  
"I swear Sirius if we have to resort to asking Dumbledore for help I'll try to the best of my ability to get you out of this mess. There are ways to prove that you've done nothing wrong. And I'm sure that Harry will let them know what a great guardian you've been to him. I saw him Sirius, I saw how much he wanted you when he was being taken away...he loves you."  
  
"And I love him...and I need him," Sirius said hoarsely.  
  
Remus patted his back gently and said, "Don't give up hope yet. There's one more cave I know of. Remember the Weasley's?"  
  
"Arthur and Molly? They're in the order, right?"  
  
Remus nodded. There's a cave deep in the forest that surrounds their house. We had a meeting there once after...you know."  
  
"What do they think of me?"  
  
"The er...entire order believes that you turned on Lily and James."  
  
"Well where the Hell do they think Peter went to? Disneyland?!"  
  
"I don't know Sirius...I'm just saying we should go check it out."  
  
Sirius nodded, looking embarrassed for getting carried away yet again.  
  
"Lets try it," Sirius said half-heartedly and transformed back into a dog.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Scabbers! Scabbers! Where are you ya dumb rat?!" little Ron Weasley yelled as he walked further and further away from the burrow and deeper and deeper into the forest. After five days of not knowing where the family rat was Ron let curiosity get the better of him. He set out on the adventure of his life to find the rat and bring it back to his family.  
  
Ron followed the path that led into the forest until it forked three ways. He chose to follow the middle path, which forked again, and then again. Soon it was getting dark and Ron had no idea where he was and wanted nothing more than to go home, whether it be with or without Scabbers.  
  
He wandered back and forth over the paths and found no way out. Giving up he sat right down on the forest floor and stared up at the hauntingly tall trees. Tears were streaming down the young boys face as he pulled his legs in close trying to protect himself from the wind.  
  
Suddenly he felt a tingling on his arm. He looked down and with the little light the fading sun still gave off he saw a large black spider crawling over his freckled skin.  
  
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" he yelled jumping to his feett and running in circles, swinging his arm around madly. He looked and saw the spider still on his arm and with one well-aimed flick sent it flying into the bushes.  
  
Ron sighed in relief and sat back down only to hear a loud bang.  
  
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" he yelled again until he saw a friendly looking man and a big black dog, Remus and Sirius. The dog barked when he saw him and ran up to smell him. Then he looked back at Remus and tilted his head slightly.  
  
"Maybe Harry isn't the only kid they kidnapped," Remus thought to himself and walked towards the little red haired boy.  
  
"Who are you, and why are you out here alone so late?"  
  
"I'm Ron, Ron Weasley...I was looking for my pet rat, Scabbers. He ran away the other day and I thought maybe he'd be out here...but I got lost. I'm-I'm scared."  
  
Remus knelt in front of the boy and said, "Are you Arthur and Molly's son?"  
  
Ron nodded, "Can you help me?"  
  
"Yeah, we'll get you home," Remus said comfortingly and grabbed the little boys hand. "We'll have to walk though, there's no way I can apparate you and my dog Padfoot there."  
  
"Okay," the boy mumbled.  
  
Remus took out his wand and mumbled a spell that would point him in the right direction towards the burrow.  
  
"C'mon," Remus said and led Ron forward. Yet, he soon realized that the dog wasn't following. "Hold on a minute." Remus dropped Ron's little hand and walked back to where the dog was sitting defiantly.  
  
"Sirius," he hissed. "I know you want to keep looking for Harry, but we can't just leave him here."  
  
The dog gave a look that said it was exactly what he planned to do.  
  
"We can still look for him, Sirius. After we bring him home. Do you want him to get kidnapped too?"  
  
The dog looked down.  
  
"Come on."  
  
This time Sirius followed Remus, albeit reluctantly.  
  
After about twenty minutes of walking Ron was slowing down greatly. As Remus noticed this he stopped him, crouched down, and said, "Are you okay?"  
  
"Tired," Ron mumbled.  
  
"Do you want to ride?" Remus asked mischievously.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Padfoot here is a big dog. I bet he could carry you on his back no problem."  
  
Sirius, who had been trotting ahead of them turned and gave a sharp glare at Remus. Remus just glared back.  
  
"Cool!" Ron exclaimed and with a running leap hopped onto Sirius's back. Sirius gave a low growl but showed no other sign that he was annoyed with the situation.  
  
They continued on their way until they reached a fork. The path for them to take was illuminated due to Remus's spell and he set down that side of the trail. Sirius however had a mad look on his face.  
  
Suddenly he took off at full trot down the other path.  
  
"Sirius! What are you doing?!" Remus yelled and followed.  
  
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Ron yelled as he clutched to Padfoot's fur, fearing that he'd be thrown off.  
  
They ran like that for a full minute before Sirius came to a full halt and turned back to look for Remus. He waited a few seconds and Remus came into view, very short of breath.  
  
Sirius then shook the little boy off and transformed into his human form.  
  
Ron gave out a loud yell and Sirius dove for him, clamping his hand over the young boys mouth. Ron fought and struggled against his hold but it was useless.  
  
"What the hell do you think you're doing Sirius?!"  
  
"Harry's here, Remus, we found him!"  
  
"Harry's where?"  
  
"Just through that brush there, I guarantee it."  
  
"Well, how are we going to look for him with Ron here? Especially now that he's seen you. He knows who you are. I told you EVERYONE in England's been searching for you. Everyone's familiar with your face."  
  
Sirius shrugged. "Tie him up and put a silencing charm on him."  
  
"We can't just tie him up!"  
  
"Of course we can and then we can get Harry, and then memory charm this kid...and everything will be alright."  
  
"God, Sirius...this really is too much for us to handle."  
  
"No, it's not!" Sirius yelled fiercely almost losing his grip on Ron. "We can do this! We're Marauders!"  
  
"We used to be Marauders," Remus said firmly.  
  
Sirius looked up at him with a mixture of anger and hurt in his eyes. "Really? Well why don't you just take him home. I'll go get Harry myself. He's my responsibility anyway."  
  
"Sirius--"  
  
"No, Remus, it's fine. Take him and go...Just please memory charm him or something so he doesn't tell anyone I'm here."  
  
"I want to help you with this!" Remus yelled.  
  
"You obviously don't...just take care of Ron here...if that's more important to you than the marauders." Sirius let go of Ron and started walking towards the bushes.  
  
Ron jumped to his feet and started running the other way. Remus caught him quickly, and as Sirius had done clamped his hand over the child's mouth.  
  
"Wait, Sirius--" Remus said and pointed his wand at Ron. "Petrificus totalus."  
  
Ron stiffened in Remus's arms and Remus gently set him down behind a bush so that if anything happened with the deatheaters he wouldn't be trampled.  
  
Sirius gave Remus a short smile of gratitude and together they set through the bushes. They inched deeper into them until they found a clearing. At one side of the clearing were a group of very large rocks and in between them was a fairly wide opening. Sirius set out to march right to it but Remus held him back.  
  
"We can't just walk in there," Remus whispered.  
  
"What are we going to do then?!" Sirius whispered back sharply.  
  
"We need a plan."  
  
"Plan away!"  
  
Remus glared at him and then started to think. "We need to get as close as we can, so we can see in without being seen. Then we can start stunning the deatheaters one by one until our presence is found out. Then we duel."  
  
"Duel..." Sirius whispered fearfully.  
  
"Did you think this would be easy?"  
  
Sirius sighed and shook his head. "Okay, lets go."  
  
They crept around the sides of the clearing, using the shadows of the forest for cover, until they reached the side of the cave. Then, Remus got on his hands and knees and peered into the cave. He then backed away again.  
  
"Transform," he whispered.  
  
"What? How can I get Harry as a dog?!"  
  
"Get him to climb on your back and run out of there. While I create a scene. Don't wait for me Sirius, just get yourself and Harry out."  
  
"But what about the plan?!"  
  
"The plan won't work." With that Remus ran into the cave and started yelling incantations.  
  
"Shit!" Sirius exclaimed and then transformed into the dog. He skulked into the cave and ran straight for Harry who he found pressed against the rock crying. Remus's plan was working no one was paying attention to him.  
  
Sirius nudged Harry's arm with his nose and Harry looked at him. First he backed further into the wall, but when he looked into the dog's eyes, he trusted it. Sirius pushed Harry's arm over his back and Harry understood that he wanted him to get on. He did so and Sirius quickly made for the exit. With one final look back he saw many deatheaters on the ground and Remus still standing, dodging spells left and right.  
  
With a soft yelp Sirius left the cave for good and trotted back out onto the path.  
  
He stopped somewhere near the point where they had left Ron and let Harry off his back.  
  
"Thank you," Harry muttered cordially as he patted the dogs head. Sirius saw his lips tremble. "Do you know where Sirius is? I miss him..."  
  
Sirius's heart wrenched as he saw how scared Harry still was, but he didn't know the best way to show Harry who he was. Seeing a dog turn into his godfather could be very traumatizing but what else could he do?  
  
Slowly he backed away from the boy and then transformed. Harry gasped and started running before he got a chance to see that it was Sirius. He just saw that the dog was turning into a man and wasn't too sure it was safe.  
  
"Harry!" Sirius yelled and the boy stopped dead in his tracks. He slowly turned and started beaming. He ran back and jumped into his godfather's waiting arms and just broke down in sobs.  
  
Sirius held him close and rocked him back and forth, kissing the top of his head over and over again. "I've missed you so much bud, so much. Are you okay? Did they do anything to you?"  
  
Harry shook his head. "They said they were going to kill you."  
  
"They didn't get to, Harry, don't you worry. We're both going to be just fine."  
  
"You told me they wouldn't come!" Harry sobbed and clung tighter to Sirius's neck.  
  
"I know I did. I didn't think they would. I didn't think they could. I'm so sorry this happened to you Harry."  
  
"Can we go home now, please?"  
  
"Not just yet, Harry, but soon. I promise we'll go as soon as we can. Right now we have to wait for someone though."  
  
"Who?! The bad men will come, Sirius! They'll take me again!"  
  
"No they won't, I'm here with you this time. Those people that had you will never get their hands on you again. Do you understand me?"  
  
Harry nodded and tried to squeeze himself closer to Sirius.  
  
Sirius cupped the back of his head and held him closer. Tears of happiness were brimming behind Sirius's eyes but he held them back. He had Harry back but Remus hadn't come out yet and Sirius was beginning to worry.  
  
"Where are we?" Harry asked suddenly.  
  
"In a forest in England."  
  
"Where's England?"  
  
Sirius laughed. "Across the ocean from home. This is where we used to live before we moved to America."  
  
"Is this where my parents lived?"  
  
"Yeah," Sirius said sadly thinking that it was also where they died.  
  
"Are we going back home ever?"  
  
"I plan to go back. We can't leave Emily can we?"  
  
Harry shook his head and pulled away from Sirius. He set him back on the ground. "Who are we waiting for?"  
  
"An old friend named Remus Lupin."  
  
"Where is he?"  
  
"In the cave where you were."  
  
"There's only bad men in the cave." "Do you remember the night they took you away?"  
  
Harry nodded.  
  
"There was a man there, he stayed behind when you were taken away."  
  
"He did a spell on Emily!" Harry exclaimed. "We can't wait for him! He'll hurt us!"  
  
"No he won't Harry. He was your father's and my best friend. That night he was under a spell. Someone else was controlling him. Do you understand?"  
  
Harry looked skeptical but he nodded anyway.  
  
"He should be here soon," Sirius said anxiously.  
  
Sirius sat himself down on the forest floor and motioned for Harry to come over. Harry sat himself comfortably on Sirius's lap and let Sirius wrap his arms around him. Sirius rested his head atop Harry's and said, "I love you."  
  
"I love you too." They were both silent for a moment. Then Harry said, "How come you were a dog?"  
  
Sirius laughed lightly and was about to explain when he heard a rustle of leaves. He turned sharply towards the forest and saw Remus crawling towards the path on his hands and knees.  
  
"Remus!" Sirius exclaimed. He helped Harry off him and brought him towards Remus. "What happened?!"  
  
"I-got-hit," he breathed. Sirius saw that he was clutching his side and moved his arm out of the way.  
  
"Rem--" Sirius mumbled and moved his hand away. There was a deep cut in his side. "Shit!"  
  
"C'mon Remus I'm going to apparate you, and Harry...and that Weasley kid out of here!"  
  
"Sirius-you can't!"  
  
"Yes I can...you're hurt I need to get you help!"  
  
"Sirius is that man going to be okay?" Harry asked looking ready to cry.  
  
"Yes, Harry he'll be just fine. I'm going to take care of him, don't you worry."  
  
"I don't think you'll be taking care of anyone, Mr. Black. But you can bet I'll be taking care of you."  
  
Sirius looked behind him to see a tall old man with a long silvery beard, and piercing blue eyes. Albus Dumbledore.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
OOOOHHHHH OOOOHHHHH I loooooove cliffies! I hope all of you do too, hehe. Please give me some reviews, I like that a lot. Hope you liked that chapter; I'll try to get the next one up soon!  
  
Review Reviews!  
  
Lord R: Thank you, I don't think it's perfect, but I'm glad you think so!  
  
LizhowHP: I'm glad you looked me up on your favorite author list. I too love how cute Harry can be made to be when people show him as a little boy. Mine's nothing compared to one I read a while back. I can't remember much about it, but Harry was given a tin can for Christmas when he asked the Dursley's for a present. Very sad.  
  
Oirams: I'm glad you like this better than my first fic. I think this one is better written, as you've said. But personally I like my plot better in my first fic. And I know what you mean about little reviews. I love them and I hate them. I like the fact that people are taking the time to tell me they're enjoying the fic, but I wish they'd tell me what it is they like or dislike.  
  
Kelek: I don't plan to make Sirius fall in love. I didn't do it in my first fic and I don't intend to here. And I'm sorry that you don't like that I have Sirius parents as nice people, but I did right that portion of it prior to the release of OOTP, and I don't feel like going back and changing it because that would be changing a lot, and I like how it is at the moment. As for your reviews to my other story, I have a lot of responses, but since your not logged in I can't get you a response for all of it. Quick responses, that story was written BEFORE OOTP so of course it's not going to be accurate there. Second, I'm sorry you didn't like Sorai, but I think OC's, whether they are good or bad are necessary to good fanfics. We're not trying to write the next book exactly as JKR would. We're trying to write what we'd like to see happen, can't please anyone but yourself. So, I'm probably not going to take you up on most of your suggestions. Though, I did agree with what you said about crying in every chapter. It's way too much, I just got carried away.  
  
Keebler-Elmo: This story will include Hogwarts, but not the way I think you think. I'm probably not (but maybe) going to carry this story up to Harry's first year. I have a plan right now that doesn't include that, but plans change, as is seen in this chapter.  
  
Carolyn: Nice to hear from you again! I too am terribly upset about the loss of Mr. Black, but I can guarantee you that he's not going to have the same fate in this story. As a reader of my last story I hope you know that I'd never do that...never. Thanks for reading!  
  
Bella: Don't worry about Harry, he overcomes everything right...maybe, hehe  
  
Little Elflet: Cute name! I'm glad you like the story so far.  
  
Sky: I love Rhode Island, yes. I'm going to be living in Newport, college, starting September 1st. I'm quite nervous, but it's such a gorgeous place. If I have a terrible time I'll just go sit on the beach and it'll make me happy again...it has that kind of effect on me.  
  
Anonymous: I did say there was someone at the grocery store who reminds me of Sirius (there are a lot of people who do). In this story I chose to have him work in a grocery store because, that's what I do at the moment and I thought he should too! I'm glad you like the story, but I wish you'd put your name down.  
  
Hi: Thanks for the review I'm glad you liked...no loved it :)  
  
Lady Arwen of Rivendell: I ask if people like it, because I'm really afraid they won't. You may think it rocks one chapter, but I could do something to set people off and I want to make sure that doesn't happen. Does that make sense? I'm glad you think it's so great though. I didn't ask this chapter just for you...but please tell me what you thought of it anyway, okay?  
  
Katie: I'm glad you liked that chapter. I like this one a whole lot better, hope you do too. I had an awesome time writing this chapter. I'm shocked at OOTP, very disappointed. I don't know how she could do that to all of his fans...it's a damn shame! And again, thanks for the birthday wish. I did have an excellent birthday even though I only got books. College books are expensive and necessary, but not fun. Well I got OOTP too so I'm not whining!  
  
A.Dee: I'm glad you like the story but don't plots get under your skin sometimes. It would be nice just to have all fluff all the time wouldn't it? It'd actually get quite boring, but I'd prefer it to what JKR did! And no, I will be having none of that in my story. Sirius will live long and prosper :)  
  
Sexy Black: Thanks for reviewing. I hope this chapter was soon enough for Sirius to find the little one!  
  
Laterose: Your review made me laugh. Here's how it happened: I wanted to add some action :) obviously you weren't too impressed with it, but I like it. I hope this chapter cheered you up a bit, but I bet the cliffie doesn't help matters much.  
  
Jasmine Black: I would never make Remus or Sirius bad. They're too wonderful in my head. I'd sooner make Harry a deatheater than one of those two.  
  
Lenai Riddle: I love the pumpkin outfit too. I was racking my head for costume ideas and I just envisioned this little boy with messy black hair, glasses askew, wearing a huge, round pumpkin...hehe 


	8. Chapter 8

Another chapter is done! My excuse for it taking so long is that I'm not able to use the computer for long enough periods. However, in about 2-3 weeks I will have my very own laptop to write on, all night if I want to. Expect more frequent updates...I have some new plot bunnies floating around in my head!  
  
No review reviews this time, or else this story wouldn't be ready for another three days because I'm really slow at them. I really only have the time for them when people don't review a lot. That doesn't mean you should stop, of course, because the reviews mean a lot to me, and almost always make me smile!  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"No, Dumbledore, you don't understand!" Remus choked out as he tried to crawl in between Dumbledore and Sirius.  
  
"I understand all too well Mr. Lupin. Mr. Black has already kidnapped one child. It looks like he's trying to find Mr. Potter a friend. I know you put trust in this man, Remus, but I assure you that it is not wise!"  
  
"What do you mean I'm trying to find Harry a friend? We found that Weasley kid and were going to bring him home."  
  
"Don't feed me any more of your lies Black. Like Lily and James, I trusted you. I once thought that you were on our side, but you have proven me wrong. I will NOT put my faith in you again. It's time for you to go to Azkaban, where you should have been sent years ago!"  
  
Dumbledore pointed his wand at Sirius but Remus dove at him before he got a chance to utter the first syllable of any spell.  
  
"Mr. Lupin, you are injured stand aside. It's not you I'm after!"  
  
"Albus, please listen-Sirius-is-innocent! Please give him a chance to tell you the truth. Please just give him a chance!"  
  
Remus was clinging tightly to the front of Dumbledore's robes. It was hard to tell if he was doing this to stop Dumbledore from doing anything to Sirius, or to stop himself from passing out.  
  
Dumbledore looked down at Sirius. For a moment it looked as though he was going to do as Remus asked but he shook his head.  
  
"I'm sorry Remus. This is for the ministry to deal with."  
  
"Albus-please!" Remus muttered, tears of frustration and pain in his eyes. "You know the ministry won't give him a chance. They'll send him straight to prison without any trial at all!"  
  
"Perhaps that's what he deserves."  
  
Sirius couldn't believe this was happening. He came to England to rescue Harry, and now, he was caught. He had been in a monopoly and got the shorter end of the stick. No matter what he did he was going to lose Harry.  
  
He gazed down at the little boy who was clinging tightly to his hand. Harry was leaning as far into Sirius's leg as was possible and buried his face into the soft fabric of his robes.  
  
He could try to make a run for it with Harry, but chances are he'd be caught. If that were to happen he'd be in even more trouble, and who knows what could happen to Harry.  
  
Sirius put his free hand on Harry's head and knelt down to eye level. "Harry, I have to leave you now. I have to go with this man...and I don't know when I'll be able to see you again."  
  
Harry looked up horrified. "No...no! You're staying with me!"  
  
Sirius's heart caught in his throat. "I wish I could, Harry, but I can't. I have to go with this man."  
  
"But Sirius..." Harry yelled as tears began to course down his face. "You can't leave me! You said you wouldn't leave me!"  
  
"I know I did, buddy...but I have to."  
  
"What's going to happen to me?" Harry sobbed as he buried his face into Sirius's chest.  
  
Sirius looked sharply at Remus and without a word Sirius knew that Remus would take care of him.  
  
"Remus will take care of you...you'll never be alone."  
  
"Without you I will be alone."  
  
Sirius let tears stream down his own face as he wrapped his arms tightly around Harry. He buried his face into the boy's messy hair and wept.  
  
He tried to compose himself and pull away from Harry, but only managed to pull away. "I love you Harry," he choked and then left Harry's side and walked towards Dumbledore.  
  
He looked sadly up into Dumbledore's eyes and nodded his head. "Take me away Dumbledore! That'll really help the world, what with Wormtail still on the loose. Just promise me one thing. Don't let Wormtail get Harry. Please just let Remus take care of him...Remus will know what to do. Don't send him to the muggles. Promise me!"  
  
Dumbledore looked at him calculatingly and then nodded his head. "Now that he knows of the magical world it would be unsuitable to leave him with a family of muggles."  
  
"Sirius! Why are you giving up so easily? Talk to him! Reason with him!"  
  
"What's the point Moony? If I fight I'm guilty, if I don't I'm guilty. There's no way out of this. It would be pointless to run, I'd still lose him Rem. I'm going to lose him," Sirius yelled, fiercely. Harry got up from where he had been sitting on the ground, sobbing, and ran towards him again. Sirius dropped to his knees and hugged him tightly once more.  
  
He then stood back up and said, "How are you planning on getting me to the ministry? Ron home, and Harry and Remus where they need to go. Remus needs help, you can't leave him like that for too long or he's going to die."  
  
"You'd like that wouldn't you?" Dumbledore said sardonically.  
  
Sirius just shook his head, not believing the person Albus Dumbledore had turned in to. There was a time when he would give anyone a chance, no matter what they had done in the past. Sirius had a strong feeling that it was his taking Harry that had changed Dumbledore's old outlook on life. It was another example of the endless circle that was Sirius's life.  
  
"What are you going to do?!" Sirius asked again, getting nearly hysterical.  
  
"I'm going to apparate you to the ministry and then take these three to Hogwarts. Mr. Lupin needs medical attention and these children need rest."  
  
Sirius nodded his head acceptingly.  
  
"Let's go then," Sirius choked out. He turned once more to Harry and said, "Bye, Harry. I love you, never forget that I love you."  
  
Harry wasn't going to take this fate as easily as Sirius was. He grabbed Sirius's leg in a death grip and sat on his foot. Sirius let out a choked sob and said, "Harry, you have to let me go, bud. You have to."  
  
Grabbing tighter to Sirius's leg, Harry shook his head firmly.  
  
"Please Harry."  
  
"Why don't you want me anymore?!" Harry sobbed.  
  
Sirius didn't think it was possible for the situation to get any harder.  
  
"Harry, I do want you. More than anything I want to just go home, but we can't. I'm sorry we can't."  
  
Remus who had remained silent due to the sharp pain in his side finally spoke up. "Look what you're-doing to him! To them! How is this good-for anyone? If Sirius really wanted-to hurt Harry-if he had-wanted to hurt James-and Lily would he have really been so-kind to Harry-that Harry would- be so upset that Sirius was-leaving him?"  
  
Dumbledore considered this for a moment. "Perhaps he was waiting for the right time to hurt the boy. Perhaps he just wanted to gain the young boys trust so he could in the future cause him harm."  
  
"You-know that's not true-Dumbledore. You know it."  
  
"No, Mr. Lupin I do not."  
  
"How-can you-do this to them! I-used to respect you-so much. But now..."  
  
"Remus, stop...it's okay," Sirius said.  
  
Remus just shook his head in disgust.  
  
Dumbledore looked at the two of them and sighed. "This is your last chance Black. I'll take you to the castle, but I will only take you under the tightest of security."  
  
Sirius looked up at him, clearly shocked. He gave an amazed laugh and said, "Thank you so much. You won't regret this."  
  
"I had better not, Mr. Black. I had better not."  
  
"Thank you, Albus," Remus breathed, and then proceeded to pass out.  
  
"Oh my God!" Sirius said and made to rush to his friend, but was restricted by the little boy attached to his leg, still sobbing away.  
  
"He'll be fine. We're leaving now." Dumbledore then shot a spell at Sirius that bound him in tight cords. Harry jumped off him in fright as the cords wove themselves under his grip.  
  
"It's okay, Harry. Everything's going to be okay," Sirius said with a small smile.  
  
"You always say that...and it hasn't been."  
  
"This time, I'm pretty sure it will be."  
  
Harry gave him a small smile and nodded.  
  
"Where's Ronald Weasley?"  
  
"Over in those bushes. Remus froze him."  
  
Dumbledore walked over to the bushes and undid the curse on Ron. The red- haired boy sprung up and started shouting. "Sirius Black! He got me! And they put a spell on me! Arrest him! Arrest him! He's evil!"  
  
Harry ran over to where they were and shouted, "Don't you say that about Sirius!" He then proceeded to sock Ron in the face with his tiny four-year- old fist.  
  
"Harry Potter!" Sirius yelled. Harry came trotting over to him. "What have I told you about hitting?"  
  
"Not to do it ever. But Sirius, he was saying-!"  
  
"I don't care what he was saying, Harry. You don't hit people, okay?"  
  
Harry nodded.  
  
"Now I want you to go apologize."  
  
"But Sirius!" Harry whined.  
  
"Apologize."  
  
Harry trudged over. "I'm sorry I hit you." He then turned back to Sirius and said, "There."  
  
Ron just looked at Harry angrily for a few moments and then shrugged.  
  
"We must go now. Everyone, hold on to some part of me." Each of the little boys did. Dumbledore then put a hand on Remus and one on Sirius. Then with every bit of energy he could muster he apparated the five of them to the front gates of Hogwarts.  
  
Quite drained, Dumbledore told the boys to let go and levitated both Remus and Sirius into the air and pointed them towards the castle. As an afterthought, he conjured a sheet and draped it over Sirius. He was ready to give Sirius a chance but knew others would be less willing.  
  
Once they were all within the walls of the castle Dumbledore headed in the direction of the hospital wing. It was late at night so he really needn't worry about kids roaming the school but he took great precautions anyway. After all, there usually was a rule breaker or two weekly, if not daily.  
  
Dumbledore led the two men ahead with such an air of power that the two little boys trailing behind him looked absolutely terrified. They followed close despite this, as the huge castle was just as ominous to them as Dumbledore himself.  
  
When they reached the hospital wing Dumbledore set Remus down on the hospital bed furthest from the door. He then set Sirius on another and hurriedly flung the curtains shut around him.  
  
"Poppy!" he called and waited for the woman to bustle in.  
  
"Yes?" she asked inquisitively.  
  
"You remember Remus Lupin, I'm sure?"  
  
"Indeed. Such a sweet boy he was. Such a shame his life was so tough."  
  
"Yes it was, and it just got tougher."  
  
"He got in a mess with something and I have him here. He's quite injured and seeks immediate medical attention."  
  
"I'll get right on that." She walked towards the bed where she could see Remus's feet but stopped short as she saw the closed curtain. "Why's this closed?"  
  
"That's not your concern Poppy. I just beg you not to open that curtain. I will deal with that issue myself."  
  
-----------------------------------  
  
"Of course Dumbledore," she said looking at him suspiciously. She then bustled to Remus and immediately set to work. Dumbledore then turned to the two little boys standing fearfully behind him.  
  
"You'll both be staying here for the evening. Ron, I've notified your parents that you are well. If it hadn't been for you getting lost this afternoon I would never have found Harry here or those men with them. They needed to be found. But, I must impress on you the seriousness of what you've done. You are never to walk alone into the forest like that again, is that clear? The dark times appear to have ended, but no one knows if they shall return. You need to be more careful. I'm sure your parents will tell you the same."  
  
Ron nodded his little red head.  
  
"And Mr. Potter, you've clearly been through a lot this evening. I want you to sit back and relax. We'll make sure nothing happens to you."  
  
"Please make sure nothing happens to Sirius either," Harry mumbled, biting his lip after.  
  
Dumbledore turned sharply to Pomfrey to make sure she hadn't heard mention of the outlaw. It appeared she had not. Dumbledore bent down to get close to Harry's ear and whispered, "I'll try, but I need you to not say his name. He'll be in big trouble if someone hears his name."  
  
Harry nodded and pressed his lips together, tight.  
  
"Good boy. Now you two, go settle into those two beds, over there. I'll wake you when the time comes."  
  
They tottered off together. At the time they were showing complete ambiguity towards each other. They didn't particularly like each other, but they didn't dislike each other either.  
  
Dumbledore sighed to himself and joined Madam Pomfrey at Remus's side.  
  
"Will he be alright?"  
  
Pomfrey nodded her head. "I believe so. He lost a great deal of blood, but I gave him some potions that should help him out. He'll have quite a scar though."  
  
"I'm sure he won't mind as long as he's alive."  
  
"Albus, what on earth were those little boys doing here? I meant to ask you before. It hardly seems the place for them to be."  
  
"They were lost in the woods. I found them about the same time I found Remus, here. They'll be fine here for the evening."  
  
"If you say so."  
  
"Now, if you're sure Mr. Lupin will be alright. I'd like to ask you to leave the wing."  
  
"What?!" Pomfrey yelled. "I have an injured man here."  
  
"I know this Poppy, I know. But as you just told me he'll be alright. I need about an hour or two and then you can come back and do what you do."  
  
"Albus, this is highly--"  
  
"Unusual, yes, but necessary."  
  
She looked at him defiantly for a moment and then gave in. She left the hospital wing in a huff and slammed the door.  
  
"That woman..." Dumbledore said, chuckling to himself. He then stepped up to the curtain he had shut around Sirius and ripped it open. Sirius's eyes zoomed to his face.  
  
"Finally."  
  
"Yes, well, things take time when there's an outlaw in the hospital wing."  
  
"Haha, funny, can you untie me please?"  
  
"No I can not."  
  
Sirius looked up at him with confusion.  
  
"As far as I know, Mr. Black, you really did betray James and Lily Potter, you really are a deatheater, and you really did kidnap Harry Potter."  
  
"How can you kidnap your own godson?! And you know how much I loved James and Lily...I'd never betray them! And do you see the dark mark on my wrist?! No!"  
  
"That's enough Sirius. I'd like to question you under veritaserum, if you don't mind."  
  
"Not at all."  
  
Dumbledore left his bedside and disappeared into a closet. He came back a few minutes later with a small vial of clear liquid.  
  
"Drink it all."  
  
Sirius nodded and downed the hatch.  
  
Dumbledore began the questions, first testing the waters.  
  
"Is your name Sirius Black?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"In you're fifth year you accidentally screwed up a potion which resulted in your hair flashing two different colors, what were they?"  
  
Sirius gritted his teeth, "Bubble gum pink and sunshine yellow."  
  
"That's right. Now, on to the important matters. Tell me exactly what you think happened on the night James and Lily died."  
  
Sirius first explained how they had decided last minute to switch to Peter. He also gave his reasons for making that switch. Then, he went on to tell his reasons for taking Harry. He told about how he knew the Dursley's were no good.  
  
Dumbledore almost didn't want to believe it. It would be so much easier had he really done what he had been accused of.  
  
"So why did you come back? Why were you in the woods this evening?"  
  
"Deatheaters took Harry."  
  
"What? Where'd they take them to?"  
  
"They took him to a cave, just outside where you found us. I don't know what they wanted to do with him...Wormtail was behind it."  
  
"So you came back to England, risking it all to find him?"  
  
Sirius nodded. "And I got him."  
  
Dumbledore smiled at him genuinely.  
  
"I believe you Sirius."  
  
"So you're not going to take him away?"  
  
"No...I'll do my best to leave him with you."  
  
"Where were you staying when Harry was taken?"  
  
"Newport, Rhode Island."  
  
"I figured it was America."  
  
Sirius just nodded.  
  
"I'll be right back Sirius."  
  
Dumbledore left for the closet again and came out carrying a vial of green fluid.  
  
"Drink this, it'll get the veritaserum out of you. It's not healthy to leave it in the system too long."  
  
Sirius drank every drop.  
  
"Where's Harry?"  
  
"Across the room. Hopefully sleeping."  
  
"He's not...he's crying."  
  
"What?"  
  
"I can hear him, you can't hear him?"  
  
"No, he's clear across the room. Perhaps you've forgotten how big the hospital wing is."  
  
"I just have an ear for it. Can you untie me so I can go to him."  
  
"Yes, but promise you'll not leave this room. I can't risk having you out and about."  
  
"Of course."  
  
Dumbledore muttered a spell and the ropes around him disappeared. He hopped off the bed and Dumbledore pointed him in the right direction.  
  
He walked over and found Harry lying face down on the bed sobbing into the pillow. In the next bed over Ron was lying sound asleep. Sirius shut the curtain around them anyway. The noise of it startled Harry and he turned to look for the source.  
  
"Sirius!" he yelled and jumped to his feet.  
  
"Hey, bud, what's wrong?"  
  
"I missed you."  
  
"I missed you too, but I wasn't away that long."  
  
"I was scared," Harry said leaning himself against Sirius's chest.  
  
Sirius picked him up and sat on the bed. He then set Harry down on his lap and put his arms around him.  
  
"You're not going to leave me, right Sirius?"  
  
"Not right now. And I'll fight as hard as I can to make sure that no one ever takes you away."  
  
Harry nodded and curled up around Sirius.  
  
"Where's that other man?"  
  
"Which one? Remus or the old one?"  
  
"Both."  
  
Sirius smiled knowing he didn't care about both of them a moment before. "Remus is in another bed, trying to get better. The old one, Dumbledore, is trying to help us get back home."  
  
"When are we going home?"  
  
"When Dumbledore finds us a safe way."  
  
"Will that be tomorrow?"  
  
Sirius laughed. "I don't know, hopefully."  
  
"Will we ever see them again?"  
  
"Probably."  
  
"Good. That Wemus, seemed nice."  
  
Sirius laughed at the mispronunciation of his friends name and said, "He's my best friend."  
  
"Can he come live with us?!" Harry asked excitedly.  
  
"I don't think so bud, but maybe if he wants to."  
  
"I want him to."  
  
"Earlier today you were afraid of him."  
  
"But you said he was nice, so he must be nice."  
  
Sirius smiled and messed up Harry's already messy hair.  
  
"Love you Harry, but I think you should go to sleep now."  
  
"Okay, g'night."  
  
"Night."  
  
They both fell asleep moments later. A perfect end to the hellish day they had shared.  
  
No cliffie this time. What did you think of that chapter? I'll tell you this, it's not over yet, trust me. Please review, it'll make me very happy! 


	9. Chapter 9

Another one down. I haven't gotten my laptop yet, but it should be any day now, and when it comes, I swear updates will come much quicker. Also, next week I'm having my wisdom teeth taken out so I'll be home A LOT more than usual, so that should also help quicken the pace!  
  
Thanks to all who have reviewed!  
  
BTW, if anyone can't read my other chapter Sexy Black has told me how you can fix it yourself, because it'll take me 5 hours to do it myself, it's those damn smart quotes which I shut off part way through this chapter...there may still be one or 2---anyway, this is what you do according to Sexy Black "On the Internet, to fix the coding, just right click on the page, go to encoding, and then hit 'Unicode(UTF-8)'" ~~~Thanks Sexy Black!  
  
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"He's in a cave," Sirius shouted as he shot up in the hospital bed. Sunlight was pouring through the thin curtains surrounding the bed he had been sleeping in. The unfamiliar surroundings through him off guard for a moment, but he soon realized where he was. Harry wasn't in a cave, he was right there beside him.  
  
But when Sirius looked down, he saw no sign of the messy-haired, green-eyed boy.  
  
He looked left and right several times in sheer panic and then climbed out of the bed. He peered out of the curtain and still saw no sign of his godson. "Shit!" he cursed and then transformed into his dog form.  
  
He trotted out from behind the curtain and started smelling around for Harry. It was difficult as the bed Harry had slept in still smelled like him. Sirius circled the room several times, but found no sign of him. Panicking even more Sirius ran towards the only familiar scent in the room. Remus's bed.  
  
Remus was soundly sleeping when he got there and Sirius barked several times to wake him. Slowly and groggily he woke up. As he heard the sounds of Sirius whining he tried to roll over and look at him. It so happened, however that he rolled right on to the large cut on his side. He flinched, moaned and rolled onto his back once more. He then angled his head as far as he could to see the dog.  
  
"What are you doing?! What happened?" he hissed.  
  
Sirius whined several more times and then ran to the edge of the curtain. He grabbed hold of it with his teeth and pulled it until it was fully closed. He then transformed back into his usual form.  
  
"Harry's gone!"  
  
"What do you mean gone?"  
  
"I went to sleep and he was right next to me, and then when I woke up he was gone! I can't smell him anywhere!" he hissed.  
  
"Do you think Dumbledore took him away? What happened between you two anyway?"  
  
"No time for that...he believes me, I'll tell you the rest later. I need to find Harry...what should I do?"  
  
"I don't think you should leave this area...even as a dog, it's not safe."  
  
"But what if he just wandered off? He could be lost anywhere in the castle...you know how easy it is to get lost!"  
  
"Sirius, calm down. This castle is safe. And if Dumbledore believes that you've done nothing wrong, as you say he does, then he's not going to let you lose Harry."  
  
"I don't like this Remus...we've been through enough."  
  
"I know you have. You should just sit here and wait."  
  
Sirius did as was told and collapsed onto the side of the bed. "I just want to go home."  
  
"Back to America?" Remus asked tentatively.  
  
Sirius nodded and Remus looked down.  
  
"What?" Sirius asked.  
  
"Nothing."  
  
"Something's bothering you...what is it?"  
  
"Well-you just got back...I was hoping you'd maybe...stay a while, so we could catch up."  
  
Sirius half smiled at Remus, "I wish we could...but we can't stay here. It's not safe here at all...look what's happened already."  
  
"I know, I know, I just--you know."  
  
"Yeah...I'm sorry Moony. It's for the best though...for Harry."  
  
"I know."  
  
"Harry wants you to come with us."  
  
Remus did a small double take. "Really?"  
  
Sirius nodded. "What do you say to that?" He asked with a grin.  
  
It was so obvious that Remus wanted to say, "I'd LOVE to go back with you! I've been so lonely all these years!" But instead he just shrugged.  
  
"That'd be nice, but it would never work. What with my lycanthropy...and you two already have your life back there...I couldn't possibly."  
  
Sirius stopped grinning and nodded. "I figured you wouldn't want to. You're probably really happy here still."  
  
"Oh if you only knew how false that statement is," Remus wanted to say. Instead, he said, "I've been alright."  
  
Sirius nodded and then sighed. "I really wish I knew where Harry was."  
  
As if on cue the distant sound of laughing children was heard. Every second it got louder and louder until a door was opened. Sirius quickly transformed into his dog form and ran out from behind the curtain.  
  
There he found Harry walking side by side with Ron, talking animatedly about Candy Land. Apparently Ron had never heard of the game Harry loved so much. As Harry talked Ron kept trying to switch the conversation over to quidditch but Harry wouldn't have it until he had described all the good people and all the bad people of the game. Behind the boys, laughing heartily at the conversation was Dumbledore. Sirius barked angrily and trotted up to them.  
  
Dumbledore glared down at him and pointed to the bed that he and Harry had slept in. Sirius obediently went to it and waited for Dumbledore. When he got there he shut the curtain around the area.  
  
Sirius quickly transformed, "Where was he?!"  
  
"In the great hall."  
  
"The great hall?! You took him to the great hall?!"  
  
"Indeed I did, the boy needs to eat."  
  
"He did NOT need to eat in the great hall. Harry happens to be a very recognizable child considering the large scar on his forehead! If people see him here, they're going to start wondering about me!"  
  
"Sirius, keep your voice down. You need to remain calm. I will not put you or Harry in any danger, I know what I am doing. It so happens that student breakfast is long over. Every student is in his or her class, there was no one to see them."  
  
Sirius still glared at him. "You should have told me."  
  
"Obviously. You need to refrain from losing your temper so easily while you are here Mr. Black. Had Poppy seen you wandering around, even as a dog, she probably would have cursed you to high heavens. You need to be more careful."  
  
"I need to know where Harry is at all times."  
  
"And from now on I'll be sure you will."  
  
Sirius grumpily sat on the bed.  
  
"Will you allow us to go home now?"  
  
"I'm not stopping you, Sirius, but have you thought about how you're getting home?"  
  
"I was planning to apparate myself and Harry back."  
  
"I don't think that's wise."  
  
"Do you have a better idea?"  
  
"Indeed I do."  
  
Sirius waited. "...Well?"  
  
"I will set up an untraceable portkey."  
  
"I didn't know there were untraceable portkeys."  
  
"There was a time when there wasn't. My dear friend Mad-Eye Moody has found a way."  
  
"How long will that take?"  
  
"I can have one by tomorrow morning."  
  
"Tomorrow morning?! Albus every second we're here Harry and I are in more and more danger...I want to go back today...now!"  
  
"Sirius...it's not safe to apparate that distance. Especially when people are out for your head. Another day here won't kill you."  
  
"I just want everything to be normal again."  
  
"I know, Sirius, I know."  
  
Sirius sighed and decided to change the subject. "How's Remus's condition?"  
  
"Poppy says he'll make a full recovery."  
  
"Does he need to be in the hospital wing now?"  
  
"I assume not...he simply needs to take it easy."  
  
"Do you think you could get us a room where we can talk freely?"  
  
"Of course, Sirius. Transform please and follow me."  
  
Sirius did as told.  
  
Dumbledore glanced at him and then said, "You want Harry with you I assume?"  
  
Sirius nodded his shaggy dog head and barked quietly.  
  
Dumbledore then led the way out. He summoned a wheel chair from a corner of the room and brought it towards Remus.  
  
Remus was staring sadly at the ceiling and didn't even notice Dumbledore and the dog approach.  
  
Sirius jumped up and put his paws on Remus's chest.  
  
Remus gasped and then laughed softly, petting the dogs head.  
  
"The dog would like to take you from the hospital wing. Are you feeling well enough for that?"  
  
"Of course."  
  
"Very well," Dumbledore said and helped Remus out of bed and into the wheel chair.  
  
He pushed the chair through the wing and stopped at the bed in which Harry and Ron were sitting and talking.  
  
"Mr. Potter, I need you to follow me. Mr. Weasley, please stay put. I'll be right back, as I imagine your parents will be arriving soon."  
  
Ron suddenly looked frightened, "My parents are gonna kill me!"  
  
"I wish I had parents," Harry piped in as he climbed off the bed. Sirius felt his heart shatter into a million pieces. "But Sirius is all I need!" The pieces sprung back together and he felt warm all over.  
  
"What did I tell you about saying his name?" Dumbledore said sternly, but with a hint of kindness."  
  
"Sorry," Harry whispered, again in awe of the power that the simple sight of Dumbledore held.  
  
"Come with me."  
  
Harry nodded and began walking behind Dumbledore, and for the first time noticed the dog who had been standing next to Dumbledore. He pulled on Dumbledore's robes and asked quietly, "Is that him?"  
  
"Yes, my dear boy, that's him."  
  
Harry grinned and stepped closer to the dog and gently pet its head. Sirius turned and licked his face. Harry laughed and then remembered what he had done to the dog the previous day. As before, he grabbed onto the scruff of the dog's next and pulled himself onto his back. Dumbledore got behind Remus's wheel chair and pushed him out of the Hospital wing, into the main halls of Hogwarts.  
  
They came upon a large tapestry of a griffin on the stone wall and stopped. Dumbledore muttered a spell and the curtain drew back revealing a vast metal door. Another spell and the door opened inwardly revealing a cozy looking room with leather couches, leather recliners, and a roaring fireplace.  
  
"Will this suffice Mr. Black?"  
  
The dog nodded his head.  
  
"I'll be back with lunch in about three hours. Keep yourselves entertained, but please do not wander into the school. Students often wander."  
  
Again the dog nodded.  
  
"I'm re-locking the door. Have fun."  
  
They all watched him go and once the door made a clicking sound, signifying it was locked, Sirius transformed back into his human form.  
  
"I like when you do that!" Harry exclaimed. "Could you do that forever?"  
  
"Forever, no. But I've been able to since before you were born."  
  
"Cool!"  
  
"Your dad could do it too."  
  
"Really. My dad could be a dog too?!"  
  
"Not a dog, your dad turned into a stag."  
  
"What's a stag?"  
  
"Do you remember when we went to the zoo? And we saw the deer?"  
  
Harry nodded, "The horse with horns?"  
  
Sirius crinkled his nose, nodded, and laughed. "I love your descriptions."  
  
Remus watched the two with a small smile playing on his lips, but his eyes revealed that he wasn't really happy. He had been alone the past three years, but Sirius, he had been having a good time, with good company. He had someone to love him and to love.  
  
Harry sidled over to the window where there was a set of chess pieces talking to each other on the floor. He quickly joined in the conversation and the pieces tried to explain to him what chess was all about. Sirius laughed at the amazed Harry trying to understand such a complicated game.  
  
"So Moony, now that we have no worries, let's talk. What've you been up to?"  
  
Remus put on a happy face and told of the few good things he'd been doing. He had had a few odd jobs here and there and tried to make it sound like he had left them all on his own terms. The truth was, he had to leave each one after a month, once the employers realized what he was.  
  
Sirius looked suspicious about this, but didn't say anything right away. A silence fell over them and he noticed Remus's face was slowly losing every bit of happiness he had been showing.  
  
"Tell me the truth, Remus."  
  
"That is the truth, I did all those things," he said defensively.  
  
"Then why do you look like someone just died? You look miserable."  
  
Remus looked down and muttered, "I am miserable."  
  
Sirius looked at him sympathetically, but said nothing.  
  
"Do you think this has been easy for me? I can assure you, it hasn't. You may have been closer to James and Lily, but their death has affected me just as much as it has affected you. You had someone else to fall back on though. Harry. He may have been just a baby, but he gave you meaning, a purpose. These past years I've often just woken up and asked myself, 'What's the point?' I just don't see the point of my miserable existence...I'm a lonely old werewolf, nothing more." Remus ran a hand roughly through his light hair and leaned back in his wheel chair.  
  
"I'm so sorry Remus...I wish I could have taken you with me, but that could never have worked. It just--"  
  
"I know, Sirius, I know. I've told myself that a hundred times, but--it doesn't make it hurt any less when I think back to the day when I realized you were gone, James and Lily were gone--God even when I realized Peter was gone!"  
  
Sirius was quiet for a moment, and then said aloud the exact words he had been thinking, "I don't know what to say."  
  
Remus just shook his head in a final way, "You don't need to say anything, really. I'm sorry I just went off at the mouth like that it's just--it's been hard."  
  
Sirius nodded and sighed. "Maybe your life would be better if you weren't alone all the time."  
  
"What are you saying, I should find a girlfriend or something? No girl wants to date a werewolf."  
  
"I've told you since I've known you that any girl would be lucky to have you, but that's not what I meant."  
  
"Well what did you mean."  
  
"Why don't you come stay with us, in Rhode Island? Emily's going to college soon, and I'll need someone to watch him while I work anyway. There's enough room in the apartment. I have a spare room that I use for storage which will be more than enough room for you--"  
  
"Thanks Sirius, but I couldn't do that to you two. Not only would my werewolf tendencies be too much for you to handle, but you already have a life together. I don't want to intrude on what you guys have."  
  
"You wouldn't be intruding! You'd be making it better. The werewolf thing would be a problem, but we're Marauders! We can solve any problem. I don't want to leave you here wallowing in your miserable life. I want you to wake up and want to take on the day--not just roll over and fall back asleep!"  
  
"It just won't work."  
  
"Yes it will--we'll ask Dumbledore and he'll help us find a solution for full moon nights. It'll all be wonderful again."  
  
"Sirius, I'm not going to Rhode Island."  
  
"Why?!" Sirius asked, now feeling slightly hurt that his friend wouldn't take up his offer. "I want you to, Harry wants you to! Give me one good reason why you can't come."  
  
"I don't want to."  
  
Sirius looked at him, letting a small amount of the hurt he felt show. Remus didn't look like he regretted it at all, but he did. He honestly would have loved to go to Rhode Island, but he knew full well that once he had settled in with them, he'd soon wear out his welcome. He didn't want to be anyone's burden.  
  
"Fine," Sirius muttered and turned towards Harry. "Hey, Bud, why don't you come here for a second."  
  
Harry bid farewell to the chess pieces and ambled over to them. Sirius pulled him up and sat him on his lap. "Harry, this is Remus Lupin. He's a good friend of mine and was also a friend of your mom and dad's...Say hello," Sirius added when Harry just stared at him.  
  
"Hi," Harry said shyly.  
  
"Hi," Remus mumbled. "You've gotten big Harry. Last time I saw you, you were just a little baby."  
  
"Well, I'm not a baby anymore," Harry stated matter-of-factly.  
  
Sirius laughed and ruffled his hair. Remus just smiled at him and said, "I can see that."  
  
They made small talk like this for at least an hour, but Remus's refusal had put a damper on the little reunion. Sirius didn't blame Remus for it at all, he understood perfectly. Yet, he couldn't help but feel a little hurt that his friend so vehemently opposed coming to stay with them. Sirius knew that it would be for everyone's best for him to stay with them.  
  
Remus also noticed that the conversations hadn't been going the way they were planned. He held back things from Sirius and felt that Sirius was doing the same back. The situation was very awkward and they soon ran out of things to talk about.  
  
Finally after a few "So..." and "Well..." comments Remus came out and said exactly what he was thinking. "This really sucks."  
  
Sirius grinned and said, "Yeah, it does. It shouldn't be like this."  
  
"But for some reason it can't be any other way."  
  
"It's been a long time...but I just expected it to be like it always was. I guess that was a bad assumption, huh?"  
  
"Remember what James used to always say?" Remus asked with a small smile on his face. "Never assume. It makes an ASS out of U and ME."  
  
Sirius laughed, "James said that ALL the time, even when it wasn't funny anymore."  
  
"He had lots of phrases like that one."  
  
"Damn I miss him."  
  
"Me too...don't miss Pete though."  
  
"Eh, me neither...bastard." He had a distant look in his eyes and without realizing it let out a low growl. Harry turned and looked up into his face and shrunk back. Sirius then snapped out of it. "What's wrong?"  
  
"You looked scary."  
  
Sirius gave Harry a small smile, "I was just thinking of what I'd like to do to one of the bad men who took you away."  
  
"Okay."  
  
Sirius smiled and turned back to Remus. "I hope we find him. Sometime he has to come out of hiding, and when he does, I'm getting my name cleared.  
  
Remus looked at him and nodded firmly. They both believed firmly in the idea, but in the depths of their hearts they knew it was nothing more than a pipe dream.  
  
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After Dumbledore had locked Sirius, Remus, and Harry in the room he returned to the hospital wing. What he found there made his heart catch in his throat.  
  
Arthur and Molly Weasley were standing in front of their youngest son who was bouncing up and down on a hospital bed. "...And then this man with a dog came and they were going to take me home...and then the dog turned into Sirius Black! And then the man made it so I couldn't move at all and hid me! And then Sirius Black, and Harry Potter and the man and me...we came back here to the castle--"  
  
At this point Dumbledore was too stunned to move and both of the Weasley's mouths were wide open. They both turned to him and glared.  
  
I'm too late, Albus thought to himself. I should have given him a memory charm before I took the others away. Dumbledore could have slapped himself.  
  
"What's the meaning of this Albus? Sirius Black at Hogwarts? You brought him here to Hogwarts?!"  
  
Dumbledore took a deep breath and prepared to explain. He knew full well that it would be a long shot to get the Weasley's to remain on his side.  
  
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So, what did you think? Not much action in that chapter, but I thought it was pretty good, and I left you a nice cliffie too! I just love doing that. Please review, and I'll try to get the next chapter out soon! 


	10. Chapter 10

I'm SO SO SO SO SO sorry that I took a month to update. I thought it would be much speedier considering I had my wisdom teeth out and I now have my own computer, but it just wasn't working for me. The last thing I wanted to do when I had those teeth out was write, and that lasted about a week. I also had to see three of my friends off to college and the rest of them are leaving within the week...*tear*...So I'm fairly depressed and haven't been in the writing mood especially with this boring, almost transitional chapter. Hopefully you lovely readers will be a little more fond of it then I am. I would honestly call it the worst chapter I've ever written.  
  
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"What's the meaning of this Dumbledore?" Mr. Weasley asked shortly.  
  
"I assure you I can explain everything. I ask that you bear with me and don't speak until I'm completely finished. I also ask that you keep everything I am about to tell you in strictest confidence. Can you do this for me?"  
  
Mrs. Weasley nodded her head, still in shock over what her son had just told them. Mr. Weasley, however wasn't about to give in so easily. "Dumbledore, the man accused of being You-Know-Who's right hand man, the man who kidnaped Harry Potter is apparently here in this castle, and you expect us to keep our mouths shut about it? I don't think so."  
  
"Arthur, I was, as you are now, prepared to send him straight to the ministry. After talking to him, however, I have found that there is an interesting twist in his case. Sirius Black never left our side in the fight against Voldemort. He simply gave James and Lily Potter a piece of very bad advice."  
  
"What's this nonsense? You, yourself, gave proof that Sirius was there secret keeper. He was the only one who could possibly have turned them in to Voldemort."  
  
"I did not give proof, I simply told the ministry what I knew. The night before they were to go under the Fidelius Charm they had planned to use Sirius Black as the secret keeper. I was not present at the time the charm took place, so I could not say who the real secret keeper was. It turns out that they made a last minute decision to switch from Sirius to Peter Pettigrew...you remember him I'm sure?"  
  
"Of course...but that's simply ridiculous. Why on earth would they choose Pettigrew, he was always such a dunder head. I don't believe that they would trust a man like that to be their secret keeper."  
  
"That's exactly why they did it. It was sure to through Voldemort off. Of course he would assume Sirius Black was the secret keeper. He'd go straight to him and attempt to torture the information out of him. And when that wouldn't work, he'd simply kill him. They figured he would never guess that the Potters would use Pettigrew, and in a way they were right. Voldemort never had to guess who the secret keeper was because, as it turns out, Peter had been working for Voldemort before he had gone under the charm. He had been waiting for his opportunity to give Voldemort the prize he had been fighting for, and he finally got his chance." "Do you have any proof to this at all, Dumbledore?" Mrs. Weasley, who had been silent through the whole thing, asked.  
  
"Only Mr. Black's word under Veritaserum, as well as his interaction with young Harry Potter. The boy is very fond of him, and appears to have been raised quite well."  
  
"Perhaps Black brainwashed him," Arthur said darkly.  
  
Dumbledore ran a hand through his long hair tiredly. "Veritaserum does not lie. I questioned him the way any court would have done and I found him to be innocent. He has not had an easy time.  
  
"Nor have James and Lily Potter."  
  
"Mr. Weasley, please, use your head. Has there ever been any proof that veritaserum was faulty?"  
  
Arthur reluctantly shook his head.  
  
"Then what makes you think that all of a sudden Sirius Black managed to feed me lies while under its influence?"  
  
"Of all people he could find a way." "Arthur, have I ever lead you in the wrong direction. Have I ever been wrong in my judgement of a person?"  
  
"Not that I know of. But there's a first time for everything, and I think this may be it."  
  
"What would you do with him?"  
  
"I'd take him to the ministry and have them deal with this problem."  
  
"Arthur, you work at the ministry, you know how unjust they can be. I assure you that this man is innocent, and you want to send him to the ministry, who will surly send him to Azkaban! Please think of what's right."  
  
"Maybe you should listen to him Arthur," Mrs. Weasley mumbled.  
  
He turned to her sharply. "You believe this story?"  
  
"Not entirely, but I think we or you should talk to him first. Albus could be right. I think you should just be sure. If he still seems guilty, then you should do something."  
  
Arthur shook his head, as if to disagree, but said, "I suppose. Bring us to him, please, Albus."  
  
"As you wish. I would ask, however, if you give me a moment alone with him before you head right in. He will be somewhat defensive I'm sure."  
  
"Of course," Arthur said with a sigh. He was still quite upset that his son had been in the 'protection' of a convict, guilty or not.  
  
They got up to leave and Ron followed.  
  
"Ronnie, I think you had better stay here right now," Mrs. Weasley said.  
  
"But I want to see Sirius and Harry again. Harry's really cool, you should meet him!"  
  
"I'm going to do that right now, honey, but you need to stay here."  
  
"Aw Mum! I wanna go too!"  
  
"No Ron, you stay here. We'll be back for you shortly."  
  
Ron flopped back on the bed growling furiously to himself and the others left.  
  
When they arrived at the start of the corridor that contained the room Sirius, Remus and Harry were in Dumbledore motioned for them to stop. He walked the rest of the way to the tapestry alone and then opened it once again.  
  
"That was sooner than I expected," Sirius said, his eyes crinkled like he had just been laughing.  
  
"Yes, well...I'm afraid I have some bad news. Young Mr. Weasley's parents arrived sooner than expected and he told them all about the night he spent with you two. They're quite upset about it. It was all I could do to stop them from heading straight to the ministry with the information that you are currently residing here at Hogwarts. Thus, they want to see you."  
  
"What are they going to do to me?"  
  
"Simply question you I believe. They are good people, as I'm sure you recall. However, they have the problem of believing what the rest of the world says. A problem I almost developed as well. Will you see them?"  
  
"I suppose I have to don't I...or else I'll be taking a lovely one-way trip to Azkaban."  
  
Dumbledore nodded. Remus looked at him apprehensively. "Are you sure about this? Are you sure they don't already have their minds made up? This could be a trick, you know."  
  
"Ah, yes, but the Weasley's are some of the most honest people I know. They're not ones to skirt around issues. They tell it like it is."  
  
"If you're sure bring them in."  
  
Dumbledore nodded his head.  
  
"What's happening Sirius?" Harry asked in a slightly apprehensive tone.  
  
"We're going to meet some new people. They probably aren't going to like me at first Harry, but I want you to be nice. It's very important that you're nice. We have to charm them, okay?"  
  
Harry nodded.  
  
Seconds later the door opened again and Dumbledore walked back in followed by two people with flaming red hair. The man, Sirius remembered as Arthur Weasley was looking at him quite hatefully, while the woman, who he also remembered as Molly, looked curious.  
  
"Er hi," Sirius said quietly.  
  
The Weasley's just looked at him quite awkwardly. There they were face to face with a man who they had pictured as this vicious murderer, sitting calmly, kindly, with an adorable little boy on his lap. He looked more frightened of them then he looked frightening himself.  
  
"Ugh..." Sirius started, simply wanting to break the awkward silence.  
  
They interrupted him before he got a chance to say anymore.  
  
"What is the meaning of this, Black?"  
  
"The meaning of what exactly? The fact that I'm here, or all the misconceptions you have of me. I'm not hurt by them so much as annoyed. I've done nothing wrong."  
  
"You were a traitor to Lily and James, your best friends, and then you kidnaped their son." Arthur corrected.  
  
"I'm sure Dumbledore already told you otherwise, but you're obviously choosing not to believe me," Sirius said coolly. "Which is fine, really, Dumbledore didn't believe me either. But I wonder, what would it take to make you believe me?"  
  
Arthur just looked at him squarely in the face and said firmly, "I don't know...ministry acceptance."  
  
"I think you know that the ministry is a completely mindless place. That's why we had the Order of the Phoenix! You were a part of that."  
  
"And so were you until you traded your friends over to the sole person we were fighting against."  
  
"I didn't do it! Peter Pettigrew did. I don't understand why no one believes that! Did he die? No, he just conveniently disappeared right after the Potter's died! How is that not suspicious to anyone? I understand why people think I did it, considering I took Harry too. But I did it for his own good but I'm telling the truth here. I didn't betray Lily and James!" Sirius yelled, Harry cowered slightly in his lap. He hated it when Sirius raised his voice.  
  
Arthur also backed down slightly, as did Molly. "I don't believe you, you vile worthless muderer!"  
  
Harry started crying. "Can you please not talk like that in front of my godson?! I didn't talk like that in front of your son. Can't you see you're upsetting him?" Sirius then turned his attention back to Harry. He turned him around and put a hand on his head. "Don't listen to the mean man, Harry. He just wants to scare us and send me away. Close your ears." Harry cupped his hands over both his ears and buried his face in Sirius's chest. Sirius stroked his hair and sent a chilling glare at Arthur.  
  
"This is getting us nowhere, Arthur...you came into this with a closed mind, will you please open it?" Dumbledore finally cut in.  
  
"Albus, this man is clearly unstable. I can't believe you trust his lies!"  
  
"I believe I've already told you that I questioned him, quite carefully, under veritaserum. You know as well as I do that it's very accurate. What can be done to make you believe the truth?"  
  
"I don't know...I suppose I'm just a skeptic." Dumbledore pulled Arthur to the furthest corner of the room. "What's happened to you? I've never known you to be like this so untrusting. I assure you Sirius Black IS innocent."  
  
"I'm sorry, Dumbledore, but I think that if he was really innocent, he would have stuck around four years ago. He wouldn't have run away."  
  
"He ran away for Harry's sake. He knew that even if it was proven that he was innocent Harry would have been taken from him and put in the custody of his muggle relatives. While I still think it would be safest for Harry to stay with those relatives, I understand Sirius's reason's for Harry not to live with them. Lily and James would be rolling in there graves if that had happened."  
  
"I don't know Dumbledore, I'm just not willing to accept this. It doesn't feel right. Give me proof, hard proof and I'll keep everything I've seen quiet."  
  
"I'm afraid the only proof out there is in hiding. But I think that should be enough proof for you," Dumbledore said pointing to where Sirius was trying to calm down the very upset Harry. He was rocking him back and forth and occasionally planting kisses on his head.  
  
Arthur's face softened slightly, but he again shook his head. "I just don't know Albus..."  
  
"So you're willing to send a man who COULD be innocent to Azkaban?...Simply because we don't have enough proof to be sure who really is to blame?" "Albus, I couldn't live with myself if it turned out he really was guilty and I could have put an end to him..."  
  
"But you could live with sending an innocent man to Azkaban?"  
  
Arthur ran his hand through his hair, showing the real depth of his receding hair line. There was a glimmer of perspiration on his brow which he wiped off the moment it started to drip. Remus, who had been watching silently the whole time found this to be the perfect opportunity to put in his own opinion. He rolled his wheel chair over to them, radiating a Tiny Tim quality in his injured state. "Please, Arthur, I swear he's innocent. I knew both of them so well in school. Peter was always kind of the misfit, you know? And Sirius, he was always the one who made sure everyone was okay. He would never betray anyone. I know those two men like the backs of my hands. What Sirius is being accused of is completely out of character for him. It's completely in Peter's character, that dirty little rat."  
  
Arthur looked at him calculatingly. "How do I know that you aren't in it too? How do I know that anything you say is true?"  
  
"How about a little trust, Arthur?"  
  
Molly walked up to him and put her hand over his. "I think you ought to believe Arthur. Just look at those two. Look at what you'd be separating."  
  
Harry was hanging from Sirius's neck, now half asleep. Sirius was rubbing his back in soft circles, appearing completely lost in thought. Upon his face was a look of pure worry.  
  
"It could be for the better," Arthur said, tiredly.  
  
"No, it couldn't. I believe him dear...I don't understand why you don't."  
  
Arthur again ran his hand over his head. "Fine....fine. I won't say anything. But if I hear "  
  
"Oh thank you dear! Thank you...I can't imagine separating those two. It would have broken my heart."  
  
"I assure you, you'll not regret this decision," Dumbledore said.  
  
"I had better not, Albus...but I must say, I'd like no further part in harboring a convicted man. We'll be leaving now."  
  
"Of course."  
  
Arthur made to walk straight out the door without acknowledging Sirius at all but he stopped when Sirius asked, "What are you going to do?"  
  
"Right now, I'm going to do nothing...but if I hear of anything suspicious about you I'll tell the ministry so fast."  
  
Sirius nodded and Arthur again turned towards the door. "Thank you!" Sirius called as he watched him leave, soon followed by Molly who gave him a perky wave. Dumbledore followed as well.  
  
Sirius laughed shortly after the door shut. Harry pulled back from him, waking slightly. "What's going on?" he yawned. "Did the mean man leave?"  
  
"Yes, but he's not a mean man, bud. He just helped us out more than you'll ever know."  
  
"But he called you a "  
  
"I know what he called me. A lot of people here think that of me, but it's not true."  
  
"Congratulations, Sirius, you've done it again. I swear if it were anyone else you'd already be on the receiving end of a dementors kiss," Remus said, rolling his chair back to them.  
  
Sirius beamed at him. "I know...but if I was anyone else I'd probably be guilty."  
  
Remus shrugged. "He was really stubborn, I thought he'd really bring you in. I can't imagine seeing them take that kid away from you."  
  
"They certainly would have a hard time taking him from me, that's for sure." Sirius wrapped his arms around Harry and rested his chin on his head.  
  
"So...any further news on when you'll be going back?" Remus asked.  
  
"Dumbledore said tomorrow morning he should be able to have an untraceable portkey ready. It's going to be Hell to explain how it works to this little guy though. I'm sure he'll have thousands of questions when we leave here."  
  
"It's too bad he couldn't grow up the way he was supposed to. He should no everything that Ron seems to know about our world."  
  
"I know, I'm trying to teach him a little, but he has a muggle baby sitter and I try to do as little magic as possible so I don't draw attention to myself."  
  
Remus nodded. "You really like it there?"  
  
Sirius shrugged. "I actually like it much better here, but it's safer in Rhode Island, despite what just happened. "I would definitely stay if it were a bit safer...I think Harry and I would both miss Emily a lot though."  
  
"She seemed feisty."  
  
"She is...that's how we met her. The first night in the apartment Harry wouldn't stop crying and she comes over ready to bust down the door because he was being to loud. She really reamed me out and I was desperate so I asked her to help me. The moment the kid saw her hair he was hooked. It was like his Lily replacement...and she's actually pretty friendly and sweet once you get to know her. She's awesome with Harry."  
  
"I'm glad you have at least someone else over there."  
  
"Well I wish you had someone here Remus...it's not good to be all alone. You'll start to think that you're not loved."  
  
Remus looked down. "I've been fine...I'll be fine."  
  
"You're not fine, Remus. You're so different than I remember you. And you always look sad."  
  
"Sirius, anybody would be like this after what I've been through...whether they had someone to fall back on or not. I'm fine by myself."  
  
Sirius just shook his head. "How often do you get out of your little house? How often do you have conversation with other people? Once a week? Less?"  
  
"Stop it Sirius! I don't need to defend myself to you! I'm fine the way I am!"  
  
"You look more sickly than I have ever seen you. Your skin is whiter than I ever thought it possible to be! Your voice is even slightly hoarse, like you never use it! You're not alright!"  
  
"Why are you doing this?" Remus yelled, he sounded almost hurt.  
  
"Because I want you to come with me."  
  
"You think insulting the way I live is going to make me want to come with you?" Remus said, sounding awestruck. "Because it's making me want to go even less."  
  
"That sounds like you already want to go...tell me the real reason you don't want to come to stay Remus!"  
  
"I don't want to."  
  
"Yes you do, I know you do...but you won't, why?"  
  
Remus looked at him defiantly but couldn't hold the look, it slowly drooped and he just shook his head.  
  
"Hey, Harry, why don't you go play with the chess men again, okay?"  
  
Harry nodded and climbed off Sirius's lap. "Talk to me Remus," Sirius said with a shadow of a grin."  
  
Remus sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "You don't really want me to stay with you."  
  
"What the Hell? Yes I do, Remus. I've missed you so much...and you've been all alone for four years! You're too young to be all alone. I want you to stay with me for those reason's and also because it will help me a lot. It's hard raising Harry by myself. Emily helps, but she can't be there always. It's all on me, that's a lot of pressure. I'd love a little more help around the apartment."  
  
"I don't think that you'll be feeling the same after the first full moon "  
  
"How many full moons have I been through with you? I know how it works, I know what I'd be getting myself into."  
  
"You won't want me there after a while...I'll become a nuisance. No. I'll just stay here."  
  
"Remus, you're not going to be a nuisance. It'll be just like when we all lived together before."  
  
"That didn't exactly end well, Sirius. Will you just leave me alone about it."  
  
"Not until you make the right decision."  
  
"To me this is the right decision!"  
  
"You know as well as I do that you're wrong."  
  
"No, I'm right. I'll just feel out of place there. I'll feel, once again, that I've been left out of a wonderful thing for four years. It'll be like be a new kid at school. I don't want to deal with that."  
  
"I'm not going to let it be like that. We'll take it slow."  
  
"Sirius why are you pushing this...why do you care?"  
  
"Because I'm lonely too," Sirius said simply.  
  
Remus didn't know what to say to that. He just searched Sirius's face to see if he was being sincere. It looked like he was.  
  
"Please, Rem," Sirius said in a pleading voice.  
  
"Okay," Remus whispered with a soft smile on his lips. Sirius beamed at him.  
  
"Great, excellent! I don't think I could have left you behind if I tried."  
  
"I want you to promise, though, if I wear out my welcome, please tell me. Can you promise me that?"  
  
"Sure, and I can also promise that I'll never need to," Sirius said with a cheeky grin.  
  
Remus smiled back and then sighed.  
  
"I've got a lot of packing to do."  
  
"Yup...are you going to sell the flat?"  
  
Remus thought for a moment and then shook his head. Too many memories there. I'll bored it up as best as I can though. I can't guarantee that nothing will happen to it of course. Maybe I'll come back periodically to check on it."  
  
Sirius nodded. "We should tell Dumbledore soon though. We could just take one portkey to your house and then portkey home."  
  
"I have a better idea. How about you and Harry go as planned and I will get better, then pack up everything and meet you guys out there."  
  
Sirius looked rather sad about the idea but agreed that it was a better plan. They talked more on it for awhile until Dumbledore came back saying that Madam Pomfrey was losing her patience and wanted Remus back in the hospital wing. Sirius transformed back into his animagus form and they all left the room, returning to the hospital wing.  
  
Once Remus was back in bed he began looking like he was going to drift off at any moment. Sirius trotted to the edge of the bed and nuzzled his furry head against Remus's arm. Remus reached down and pet the dogs head a few times before bringing his arm back up and drifting off to sleep.  
  
Dumbledore then motioned Sirius to a bed where Harry was already sitting. He swung the curtains closed and Sirius transformed back to his regular form. They discussed the plan for Remus to come stay with them in Rhode Island and Dumbledore left with the news that the portkey to bring Harry and Sirius home would be ready at about nine o'clock the next day.  
  
The rest of that day was spent with Sirius teaching Harry how to play Exploding Snap while they sat within the confines of the curtains surrounding the hospital bed. Harry loved the explosions that occurred every now and then.  
  
Sirius was very happy that Harry was taking so well to the magic he was seeing. For a while he had felt as though he had failed Lily and James by not showing Harry all there was to magic, but it was risk he couldn't take. The fact that Harry could deal quite well with the changes of it made Sirius very happy. He just didn't know what he would do when it actually came time for Harry to go to Hogwarts himself. He assumed Dumbledore would take care of it for him.  
  
Before they went to bed that night Harry turned to Sirius and asked, "Where's Ron?"  
  
"Ron went home with his mom and dad."  
  
"Oh...I liked him. Will I get to see him again?"  
  
"Probably not, bud," Sirius said. He noticed the sad look on Harry's face. "Sorry."  
  
Harry nodded and looked down.  
  
"But, hey, don't worry about it. You're going to be starting pre-school next year and you're going to make lots of friends just like Ron."  
  
"Will they no about quidditch?" Harry said regaining some happiness.  
  
Sirius didn't want to let him down, but had to. "No, but they'll know about candy land!"  
  
It didn't work. Harry's face fell again.  
  
"I'll tell you all I know about quidditch though. You know your dad used to be one of the best players in the school!"  
  
"Really?!" Harry said getting excited.  
  
"Yeah, I can have Remus bring some pictures with him when he moves in. He's got lots of pictures from when we were young. Would you like to see them?"  
  
Harry nodded vigorously.  
  
"Okay. Well I think it's time we get some sleep bud. We're getting up early tomorrow and finally going home."  
  
Harry looked happy, but slightly sad as well.  
  
"You want to go home right?"  
  
"Yeah! Will I ever come back here though? I like this place!"  
  
Sirius laid back against the pillows and shut his eyes. He brought Harry down next to him and Harry used his chest as an oversized pillow.  
  
"I hope so Harry. I don't know if we'll ever be back here again, but for your sake, I hope so."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
That was the hardest chapter ever! I don't know why it was so hard but it really sucked, wouldn't you say. You'd think that in nearly a months time I'd be able to update more, but that just wasn't happening.  
  
Anyway, I also have another story up now which is flowing much easier than this one. I just have to get to a point and this one should flow easily again too. Anyways, the new story is called When a Home isn't a Home. It's about when Sirius leaves and all that. I like it, please read it.  
  
I have no guarantees as to when the next chapter of this story will be up. I go to college in exactly 2 weeks and have A LOT to do. I also have no idea how much spare time I'll have to write while I'm there. So, please bear with me and wish me luck!  
  
Please don't flame this chapter if you think it sucks, as I do, please tell me kindly. Thank you. 


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